Make in India in defence is a decisive shift; Modi 3.0 could see it becoming transformative

At the recently concluded Firstpost Defence Conclave, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh underlined the huge strides India has taken to address India’s efforts in pursuing make in India in defence.

The context to those efforts is that as India reaches $4.11 billion in GDP, a glaring weakness has been its dependence on imported military equipment. In 2023, according to SIPRI, a think tank India at 11 per cent accounted for the highest imports by one country.

This dependence exposes India to vulnerabilities associated with supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions and escalating costs. Moreover, dependence on foreign suppliers can compromise strategic autonomy and inhibit technological innovation.

Recognising these challenges, the Indian government launched the “Make in India” initiative in 2014 to foster indigenous manufacturing in defence. India imports $7 billion of military hardware on average every year. This includes large platforms like the Rafale fighter jet socks and gear for high-altitude mountain warfare and almost everything in between.

To change this equation a series of measures to boost self-reliance in defence were introduced in the previous Modi government.

For starters, the defence ministry has introduced four negative lists that include 411 items these include sensors, ammunition and field guns that can be procured exclusively on a Make in India platform. Another 925 items are on a phased import ban list and will be eventually made exclusively in India.

India’s defence sector has reacted to this. Shares of private and public defence firms like L&T and HAL have appreciated by 100 per cent plus in the last one year. CLSA, a broker in its latest report in February said that the new orders of $10 billion in defence contracts from local vendors will continue the upward march of defence stocks.

And it is not just new platforms that have gained traction. In mega-platforms, the kind that only a handful of countries make, India is arriving on the world scene. The latest Indian aircraft carrier is the biggest example. The navy took delivery of the warship, designed by the warship design bureau, from Cochin Shipyard Ltd. The key is that the entire ship is designed in India and it has over 70 per cent indigenous content. This scale of building in defence gives critical technological spin-offs that deepen the capability of both the public and private sectors. Likewise, India is making 85 Tejas fighters. That has spawned an ecosystem of subcontractors. The Tata Airbus joint venture is manufacturing the A295 transport aircraft. India has also corporatised its ordinance factories and has some of the world’s leading private players in manufacturing ammunition such as Premier Explosives based in Secunderabad.

The political push however is now geared to go one step forward. Media reports have suggested that the prime minister is wary of cost overruns, technology lags and projects being beyond reasonable timelines. He is putting political capital behind make in India in defence.

Put simply, DRDO has far too much on its table. It researches, develops and manufactures everything from long-range ballistic missiles to tiffin for soldiers. Precious little is left for actual research and that is where the restructuring is going to come from.

The recently submitted Vijay Raghavan report, titled ‘Redefining Defense Research and Development’ argues that the DRDO should handle a handful of top priority projects. The rest should be shared by public and private sectors.

Moreover, in the current structure, the DRDO chairman is both the judge and jury. He undertakes the research and approves its results.

The new structure will see the PMO directly at the apex of a defence technology council. The Ministry of Defence will be the chief nodal point. The newly formed Department of Defence Science, Technology, and Innovation will report to the prime minister.

The DRDO chairman’s power currently includes both suggesting and approving defence projects that will change. This will be bifurcated, and a MoD senior officer will be taking on the MOD research and development responsibilities quite apart from what has been the DRDO turf so far.

The idea is to cut DRDO flab add research focus and ensure a system of accountability. That is not all. The private sector may get a bigger chunk of projects as the number of defence labs under DRDO may be cut from 40 presently to 10.

There is also a possibility that the aeronautics behemoth HAL may see restructuring. This may see the creation of new companies and more roles for the private sector. HAL too has been perusing far too many projects and critical technologies such as drones and air defence have too little to show for the big-ticket projects.

India’s procurement sources extend far beyond its shores, encompassing everything from French-made Rafale M aircraft for the new aircraft carrier to engines for the Tejas and INS Vikrant, provided by US-based General Electric. Additionally, engines for submarines are sought from international suppliers, highlighting India’s global reach in defence acquisitions.

It will take a monumental effort for the next term to get over the defence bureaucracy, a large chequebook to ensure technology transfer, not to mention intricate industrial espionage and the wild spirits of Indian private enterprise to let a thousand defence projects boom.

The writer is a senior journalist with expertise in defence. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.

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