Armed services Back domestic industry To make in india

Aimports for 70% of its defence and security needs and is the second largest importer after Saudi Arabia. This defence import arithmetic needs to be reversed and the same 70% production should be indigenously produced as Indian Navy Chief, Admiral Karambir Singh hinted at the IDAS, citing his Navy’s defence production graph and new needs. India’s aerospace needs are growing too and cannot be met with just imports.

With the current security scenario in the region, a modern robust, indigenously produced defence hardware and technology is an urgency for India. At the IDAS, the country’s three defence chiefs and the Ministry of Defence were on the same page—“make-in-india” should be a productive tool to achieve the objective.

And in that start-ups by tech entrepreneurs and innovators hold the key to make India surge in home-made defence equipment and protective gears. “There is a huge potential to increase these start-up numbers as India has just in hundreds,” said General Rawat, while comparing it with the 15,000 in Israel and nearly 12,000 in the United States.

The urgency to turn India into an indigenous defence producing hub is telling, with the Air Chief, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria and Navy Chief, Admiral Karambir Singh both listing out the immediate needs of the forces to first excel and then ensure safety and security for India in the air and in the seas. While the Air Force needs another 350 aircraft to make Indian skies secure—and it needs these on time—indian Navy aspires to increase its naval aviation fleet from the current 220 to 440 in the next two decades.

With established defence producing players like Tata, Reliance, Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and Hinduja already present, the private sector needs to seize the opportunity offered by the Ministry to be the partner in this humungous defence target to achieve. While the government is out to shed bureaucratic hurdles and make indigenous defence production an industry friendly sector, the convergence of government with private Indian companies along with the MSMES and tech innovators in top academic and research institutions will help realise India’s aim to become a world class domestic defence industry and eventually a market for other neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister Modi’s government is out to promote private sector growth in establishing India as a major defence manufacturing hub and is breaking all barriers to make it investor friendly for indigenous private players.

Time to win this “defence production war” with an Indian tag!