India is on its way to the Atmanirbhar Ministry of Defence under Prime Minister Modi

*Paromita Das

PM Modi’s election campaign was defined by his innocently aggressive style. He never expressed regret for any of the accusations leveled against him. People expected the same aggressiveness in political orders from the Defense Forces when he became Prime Minister. The Ministry of Defense quickly became a focal point of PM Modi’s cabinet. Respective Defense Ministers have worked tirelessly to make the defense establishment the face of the new India. Let’s take a look at some of the more significant changes.

Defense products made in India

India was the world’s second-largest defense importer when the Modi government took office. It places a significant financial strain on our defense budget. Furthermore, in the event of a crisis, this could be dangerous because our defense needs could be suffocated at any time. The Modi government has decided to keep defense production a strictly domestic affair.

Make-in-India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat have made defense manufacturing a priority. India produces three types of indigenous defense products: Make-I, Make-II, and Make-III.

The Union government provides funding for projects that fall under the Make-I category. The government contributes 90% of the funds needed in this category. Make-I currently has seven projects in various stages of development. The Army will benefit from four of them: Indian Light Tanks, Terminal End Secrecy Device (TESD), Tactical Communication System (TCS), and Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV). The Air Force’s security apparatus will be enhanced by three projects: an Airborne Electro-Optical Pod with Ground-Based System; an Airborne Stand-Off Jammer, and a Communication System.

The industry is the largest source of funding in the Make-II category. Make-II projects are important pillars of the Make-in-India movement. These are primarily intended to reduce India’s defense imports and are funded by the country’s rapidly growing manufacturing sector. Prototypes, systems, and subsystems such as spare parts, radar systems, detection systems, instrumentation parts, and light trucks are all included in this category of projects. Currently, 68 such projects for our three arms of the military are in the works.
Given that it takes 10 to 15 years for an industry to mature, the government has decided to bring in foreign companies as well. This is something that Make-III projects take care of. An Indian vendor can form a joint venture with a foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer to manufacture arms in India under the terms of the agreement.

To avoid any potential bottlenecks in defense projects, the government has decided to create separate defense corridors. 351 companies have been granted a total of 568 operating licenses in these corridors so far. By the end of 2024, the goal is to have a total turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore in local defense and aerospace goods. The Ministry of Defense is working to achieve this goal as quickly as possible.

The defense bureaucracy has been eliminated

The biggest roadblock to India’s development has been dubbed bureaucracy. Nobody expected it to eat away at the defense industry as well. But it did, and the Tejas project’s three-decade delay is the ultimate proof. Our government used to spend Rs 1.25 lakh on an average defense industry employee a few years ago. They were mostly from Defense Public Sector Units (DPSU). Furthermore, defense agents pitching for foreign OEMs used to gobble up a lot of resources.

The government’s first major anti-bureaucracy initiative was to streamline the regulations governing agents

Earlier defense deals were also subject to Babus of the Ministries’ approval. They could never be as knowledgeable as a General, regardless of their level of expertise. As a result, giving them more power over defense deals than Generals was a bad idea. The Ministry of Defense increased military involvement in defense deals by creating the post of Chief of Defense Staff.
However, excluding top bureaucrats is insufficient. Bureaucracy is a phenomenon that has infiltrated every public sector unit’s daily operations. However, in Defense, the lacklustre attitude is unforgivable because it directly affects our civilizational state’s sovereignty. The Ministry of Defense made the decision to end the phenomenon. With the dissolution of the Ordnance Factory Board, it began its crime (OFB). The OFB was restructured into seven new, more efficient businesses.

Because the Ministry had data on the OFB’s negative impact, breaking it was simple. According to an internal assessment by the Indian Army, poor quality defense equipment supplied by the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) has resulted in 27 deaths and a loss to the government of 960 crore rupees since 2014.

Partnership between the public and private sectors

Previous governments have been wary of the government’s involvement in defense-related businesses. Our polity’s socialist bent had instilled in them a sense of mistrust. They believed that profit-driven private companies would be unable to serve patriotic goals. That may have been true during the Cold War, but it is no longer true in the twenty-first century.

The Ministry of Defense has enacted a slew of policies to encourage private-sector participation. The ‘Defense Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020’ was created by the government to encourage defense manufacturing self-sufficiency. It asked foreign vendors to manufacture in India with its local subsidiaries through the ‘Buy (Global-Manufacture in India)’ category. In addition, the Ministry raised the FDI limit in the sector. It created a platform for DPSUs to communicate with local MSMEs/Startups interested in participating in local defense manufacturing.

To say the least, the results were spectacular. India, which had previously been a net importer of defense equipment, began to export. Indian arms exports have increased sixfold since 2014.

Synergy among the Defense establishment’s top brass

All three major branches of our defense establishment have worked together for the majority of their time together. During wars and other emergencies, however, things become more complicated. In these cases, a single figure at the top is required to expedite the execution of orders. As a result, the Kargil Review Committee recommended that the Indian government appoint a military advisor whose orders would be followed by all.

The Modi government’s Ministry of Defense implemented the recommendations. General Bipin Rawat, who died recently, was India’s first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS). The CDS of India is the head of the newly formed Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and the Ministry’s chief military adviser. The establishment of DMA and CDS posts is seen as part of the process of creating an Integrated Theater Command (ITC).

The Indian Armed Forces currently have 17 different commands, each led by a four-star officer. Similarly, two existing tri-services theater commands are responsible for strategic assets in close proximity and nuclear assets. However, an ITC is required to integrate existing commands and create a single commander for three services. The Commander of the ITC will have all resources at his disposal to strengthen the Defense establishment’s cohesion.

Armed Forces Modernization

The modernisation of the Armed Forces should have been a top priority for governments in the face of ever-aggressive anti-India neighbors. Regrettably, the issue was pushed to the side for the most part. When Late Shri Manohar Parrikar took over as Defense Minister, the Armed Forces lacked basic equipment such as upgraded guns, effective bulletproof jackets, and high-quality shoes, among other things.

In just a few years, the Ministry of Defense changed everything. 93 modernization projects were in various stages of development as of this year’s Republic Day. This product’s total value is estimated to be Rs 1.37 lakh crores. The army is investing in high-volume firepower, artillery guns, upgraded Pinaka rocket regiments, longer-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, loiter munition systems, runway-independent remotely piloted aircraft systems, and improved surveillance and weapon-locating capabilities. Similarly, during the Modi administration, the Navy’s modernization was stepped up a notch. When it became clear that India and China would be naval rivals in addition to the Galwan Valley, our Navy responded by launching an aircraft carrier, large warships, submarines, and maritime aircraft. The Indian Navy did not hesitate to purchase combat-ready submarines during the early days of the Make in India initiative. The fact that India has its own nuclear submarine program is the icing on the cake.

Probably the most overlooked victim of India’s antiquated armed forces was the Air Force. The Modi government has implemented a number of initiatives aimed at modernising the Air Force. In India, it upgraded Sukhoi and later brought in the long-awaited Rafale Jets. The multi-front competition for the supply of 114 multi-role combat aircraft is currently entertaining to watch. HAL Rudra, HAL Dhruv; Mi-17v-5, and Kamov Ka-226T are some of Modi’s Defense team’s key achievements on the lighter combat front.

As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. The majority of Indian governments were unaware of this. The Modi government, on the other hand, is working hard to make India an impregnable fortress.