Indian Military becoming self-reliant in defense sector: Two-Third of military budget will now be ‘Domestic procurement’

The defence budget of 2021-22 will be a special one as the majority of its chunk will be used to buy a variety of military hardware, ranging from fighter jets to combat helicopters and from tanks to missile.

Before 2001, no private company was allowed to operate defence-related businesses. This was changed under the Vajpayee government to reduce the dependency on Russia for military equipment. But even after this, the defence industry was lagging behind the government sector as the government companies had the supremacy when it came to attaining the tenders for the government.

The allocation for indigenous procurement, made for the second consecutive year, will power the purchase of Tejas LCA (light combat aircraft) Mk-1A jets, light combat helicopters (LCHs), basic trainer aircraft, Arjun Mk-1A tanks, Astra beyond-visual-range missiles, Pinaka rocket systems and anti-tank missiles, said one of the officials cited above.

Last year, the ministry spent over ₹51,000 crore, or 58% of the capital budget, on domestic purchases. The ₹48,000-crore contract for 83 LCA Mk-1A jets, awarded to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) last month, is the biggest indigenous defence procurement deal so far.

The first Mk-1A aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force in three years, with the rest being supplied by 2030. The deal involves the supply of 73 Mk-1A fighter jets and 10 LCA Mk-1 trainer aircraft.

The dependency on foreign imported equipment is a major issue for the Indian army. It also leaks the money into foreign countries which can easily be invested in India. The dedication of the Indian Government to the ‘MAKE IN INDIA’ initiative is a major boost for the local defence companies and will also bring foreign investment in terms of partnership with the established firms.

One such example is the Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with 56 C-295 transport aircraft under the Make-in-India initiative in the aerospace sector. Under the contract, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in flyaway condition while the remaining 40 will be assembled in India by TASL.