Indigenisation: Indian Navy Takes a Big Leap Forward
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eaving behind an era of imports and dependence, the Indian Navy is all poised for an exponential growth as firm steps are being taken towards an all-round indigenisation, which will be crucial for protecting the country’s long and vulnerable coastline in future. Upholding the national mission of ‘make in India’, the Ministry of Defence is already promoting procurement of major equipment through Indian vendors, thus encouraging the Indian industrial firms to collaborate with foreign companies, to develop key niche technologies and be the prime contractor. The government’s intention to give a major boost to indigenization in the defence sector is clearly evident in the extensive Indian Navy Indigenisation Plan (INIP) 2015-2030, which is currently under implementation. Besides, moves to rope in the private sector has already begun and the FDI limit has been
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sailors & warriors
raised from 26% to 49% and up to 100% on a case-to-case basis for niche technologies. Private players like Tata, Mahindra, Reliance, Kirloskar, L&T and Godrej have defence-related units and some of them have collaboration agreements with foreign firms. The government has also set up the Technology Development Fund, simplified procedures and has trimmed the list of defence products which cannot be manufactured by nongovernment agencies, to encourage indigenisation in the defence sector. The giant steps being taken by the Indian Navy to play a significant role in protecting the country’s coastline could be seen in the backdrop of China’s ‘String of Pearls’ project, which also underscores the role it can play in the country’s naval architecture and its responsibility, now equal to that of the army, the air force and the paramilitary
forces, in guarding the nation. New carriers are being designed and manufactured in India, and it’s obvious that indigenisation is picking up. The Era of Dependence The Indian Navy in the past had acquired most of its technology through import from diverse sources. The aircraft carriers like Vikrant, Virat and Vikramaditya were all imports and the N-powered INS Chakra is another example. The expertise needed to manage the operation and maintenance of the imported weapons was always a headache. The reason was the failure of research organisations and industry to develop any reliable major systems within a reasonable timeframe. This lack of credible R&D in military sciences and technologies, inadequate amalgamation between R&D and the manufacturing
