India is at the cusp of metamorphosing from a regional player to one with global clout. As India’s geo-political and economic ambitions grow, it needs to develop robust indigenous manufacturing capabilities and ecosystem to secure its ambition for self-reliance in the Aerospace and Defence industry.

The current picture however, is quite opposite. India is ranked among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of military expenditure. In 1995-2000, India was the sixth largest arms importer; the bill was $7 billion, which was around 50 percent (in terms of value) of what the largest importer i.e. Taiwan had spent. Compare it to last 5 years (2013-17). As per The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports, India rose to the top, spending over $18 billion, which was more than 12 percent of that of the second largest importer (Saudi Arabia). That is not all. Add the life cycle costs of spare parts, upgrades etc, and seller nations would finally end up earning many times the cost of platforms and systems they export.

Achieving Self Reliance through Indigenous R&D by DRDO /Industry - Part I

India is one of the largest importers of defence equipment in the world. Compelled by the need of modernise its armed forces, India will be importing billions of dollars worth of equipment in the next ten years. The growing dependence on imported defence equipment and technologies not only places heavy burden on financial resources, it also impacts national security adversely. There is an urgent need for accelerating the tempo of indigenisation of defence production.