Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India should develop indigenous military equipment' that was published in Newsband

India should develop indigenous military equipment

To strengthen our defence, increasing the participation of India’s private sector in military manufacturing is a must. The Narendra Modi government’s ambitious “Make in India” push aims to transform the country into a global manufacturing hub. India is the world’s largest importer of defence equipment, and indigenising production is key to such a plan.

Under Strategic Partnerships, select Indian private companies should be given preferential status in major defence projects. If the Centre fails to increase indigenous military manufacturing then India will have to remain heavily dependent on defence imports.

India has all the necessary prerequisites for a robust military-industrial complex: a diverse private sector, a large base of engineering institutes, and a growing defence budget. The fact that India faces a combination of security threats makes it very essential for our country to be self-reliant in military equipment. India must begin projects to produce defence equipment with the technological collaboration & foreign, Indian private investment. This move might someday transform India from being an Importer to Exporter of defense machinery.

It is true that policies are being made in this direction but the main concern in Indian Economy is how effectively it is implemented and improved continuously.

It is clear that India want to become a superpower in Asia and hence it is essential to develop indigenous military equipment rather than heavily depend upon imports. However, time will tell how long it will take to implement these steps and when can India reduce if not stop importing warfare materials. The significant advantages will include growth of small and medium scale industries leading to higher employment and increasing GDP of our country.

The concept behind 'Make in India' is development in the manufacturing hub. This can encourage Indians to design indigenous product to showcase their abilities which can save a huge amount of Indian revenue. But the very root lies in the basic engineering industry which need to produce quality and efficient engineer for such reforms.

Military power is key to peace, progress and good relations. It is when this power weakens, that peace is disturbed. With this in mind, India needs to embark on comprehensive indigenous arms manufacturing capabilities. The policy followed up to now has to be abandoned - government should get out and make way for privatization with huge incentives in the beginning to encourage its development. All IITs must have a formal military unit which will work with private industries to develop the arms. India can claim its place under the Sun and help maintain peace only if it becomes self-reliant in arms and military, air, naval capabilities.

It is true that we have to focus our energies on solving our basic problems like providing clean water, sanitation, electricity, food and a roof over the head for millions. But one must consider the fact that as all the nations are progressing we too have to make our defense system robust.