India's Quest For Self Reliance In Defense

INDIA’S QUEST FOR SELF RELIANCE IN DEFENSE

The defence sector worldwide is undergoing some major structural changes. Dependency on foreign vendors for weapon systems is likely to come down in coming years. Earlier the channels of procurement have been through the Government-to-Government deals, wherein the foreign vendors used to sell their weapons and systems through embassies. The Government-to-Government deals helped the foreign vendors to control and tweak the terms and conditions, cost and version of the equipment being procured.

View current geopolitical tensions in the subcontinent, India pursues indigenization as a solution to tide over the present crisis. This initiative ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ or ‘Self Reliant India’ entails discontinuing abroad procurement and encouraging domestic sourcing in a calibrated manner. This exertion would certainly counter the economic and political blackmail of weapon selling nations.

Times Gone by

Historically the defence manufacturing and research have been the forte of Government-run enterprises in India. DRDO was established in 1958 to carry out research on guided missile systems rather than developing conventional weapon systems. Ordnance Factory Boards (OFB) and Defence PSUs were manufacturing the weapons and systems for Armed Forces.

The OFBs were established by the Europeans in the late eighteenth century. In 1802 the…