Addressing the 41 st DRDO conference in Oct 2019, General Bipin Rawat, then army chief, stated, ‘India is one of the largest importers of weapons and ammunition, and after 70 years of independence, it is not a very proud statement to make.’ He added, ‘We are confident that we will fight and win the next war with indigenous weapon systems.’ Last week, General Manoj Pande, the current army chief, mentioned that the army is collaborating with 340 indigenous defence industries to fulfil 230 contracts by 2025 with an outlay of Rs 2.5 Lakh Crores.
The Indian navy issued a statement ahead of its senior commanders’ conference in Oct last year, mentioning, ‘A detailed roadmap to enhance indigenisation through ‘Make in India’ with the aim of achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ by 2047 will be undertaken by the Commanders.’ The current navy chief, Admiral Hari Kumar, endorsed the commitment last month when he said, ‘We have committed to our national leadership that by 2047, we will become Aatmanirbhar, and for that, we require the help of industry.’
In an interview to Indian Aerospace and Defence in Oct last year, the air chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, stated, ‘IAF aims to create an ecosystem which fosters innovation and encourages technology development in Defence by engaging Research and Development (R and D) institutes, academia, industries, start-ups, and even individual innovators.’
The armed forces have realized the necessity of supporting the domestic defence industry. Depending on imports for capability and capacity building implying outsourcing national security, which is unacceptable. Speaking on lessons learnt in the Ukraine conflict, General Anil Chauhan, the CDS stated, ‘We cannot be dependent on supplies of our weapons from outside. That's the one big lesson we take from the conflict.’
All recent conflicts have given one major lesson, a nation must largely be self-sufficient in defence, with weapons designed for its specific terrain and operational requirements. Ukraine is dependent on the west for its defence needs and shortfalls in supply have been largely responsible for its recent reverses on the battlefield.
The weapons being provided by the west to Ukraine, have been designed for operations elsewhere, impacting its full exploitation, a reason why US Abrams tanks have not been very successful. The US Congress, by temporarily shutting the tap, had pushed Ukraine into a crisis. Europe, by itself, is unable to meet Kiev’s demands, benefitting Russia. Russian defence industry is robust enough to fulfil most of its defence needs thus giving an edge to their armed forces, with North Korea, Iran and China meeting its shortfalls.
Manufacturers also have the ability to turn the tap off on either new procurements or spare parts whenever they desire to apply pressure upon the recipient. Pakistan’s F 16 aircraft are monitored 24X7 by the US. Its armament can only be procured from them. The US denied GPS services to India during the Kargil conflict compelling the DRDO to develop its own. Thus, was born Navigation for Indian Constellation (NavIC). In addition, import costs are high. The same, if expended in India, could open employment avenues as also enhance the economy. Further are reports of corruption in defence deals.
Aatmanirbharta in defence production began slowly in 2014 gaining steam over the years. The opening of doors to the private sector as also corporatizing the Ordnance Factory Board changed India’s defence manufacturing landscape. India’s defence production has been witnessing a steady increase. It grew from Rs 740 crores in 2017 to over One Lakh crores in 2023. A central government press release of May 2023 mentions that, India’s defence exports rose from a paltry Rs. 686 Crore in FY 2013-14 to nearly Rs. 16,000 Crore in FY 2022-23.
In Nov last year, PM Modi laid down his target for achieving defence exports of Rs 35,000 crores in the next five years, intending to make India into a
major exporter of defence equipment. The press release also mentioned that ‘expenditure on defence procurement from foreign sources reduced from 46% of overall expenditure in 2018-19 to 36.7% in December, 2022.’ A subsequent release mentioned that 75% of defence procurement budget in the last financial year was earmarked from domestic sources, up from 68% the year before.