COIMBATORE: Soon, the defence, paramilitary and police personnel across the nation might be using guns and bullets manufactured from the city. Coimbatore, which is already known for manufacturing defence products, is soon going to become a hub for manufacturing small arms and ammunition.

The Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association (Codissia) has submitted a proposal to the defence ministry requesting to provide them with a commitment for manufacturing defence products. "Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has requested the Indian Army to include Codissia in the defence manufacturing discussions. And, we have submitted a proposal to the defence ministry requesting for a commitment on its requirement from MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) here," said the president of Codissia, V Sundaram.

The proposal is to set up a public limited company comprising a group of members from Codissia that will manufacture the products required by the Army. "For instance, about 2,500 out of the 5,000 member companies will come together and invest a capital and manufacture the products. All the companies will be stakeholders but will behave like vendors," said Sundaram.

Sundaram also said that this will also serve as an opportunity for start-ups that will come up in the Codissia Industrial Park. "The start-ups can become suppliers of products to the MSMEs and gain business. About 300 companies will come up in the 400-acre Industrial Park," he said.