PRODESK ENGINEERING MANPOWER SOLUTIONS

India is one of the strongest military forces in the world and holds a place of strategic importance for the Indian government. The top three largest market segments of the Indian defense sector are military fixed wing, naval vessels and surface combatants, and missiles and missile defense systems. Military rotorcraft, submarines, artillery, tactical communications, electronic warfare, and military land vehicles are some of the other well-known segments. Some of the major defence manufacturing companies in India are Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML), Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).

The Indian defence manufacturing industry is a significant sector for the economy. The industry is likely to accelerate with rising concerns of national security. Demand for defence equipment in India has been growing due to the ongoing territorial disputes with Pakistan and China over the ownership of the Northern State of Kashmir and the North Eastern State of Arunachal Pradesh, respectively. Over the last five years, India has been ranked among the top importers of defence equipment to gain technological advantages over rival countries such as China and Pakistan. To modernise its armed forces and reduce dependency over external dependence for defence procurement, several initiatives have been taken by the government to encourage ‘Make in India’ activities via policy support initiatives.

According to the global power index, the Indian defence sector ranks fourth in terms of firepower with a score of 0.0979 (with 0.0 being the perfect score). The Indian government has set the defence production target at US$ 25.00 billion by 2025 (including US$ 5 billion from exports by 2025). India is one of the world’s biggest defense spenders with a total outlay of Rs. 5.25 lakh crore (US$ 66 billion), accounting for 13.31% of the total budget and indicating an increase over the budget estimates of 2021-22 by Rs. 46,970 crore (US$ 5.9 billion).

India’s defence import value stood at US$ 463 million for FY20 and is expected to be at US$ 469.5 million in FY21. India targets to export military hardware worth Rs. 35,000 crore (US$ 5 billion) in the next 5 years. As of 2019, India ranked 19th in the list of top defence exporters in the world by exporting defence products to 42 countries. Defence exports in the country stood at Rs. 4,794.13 crore (US$ 583.13 million) in FY 2022-23 (until September 5, 2022).

The Indian Defence Manufacturing sector has seen some major investments and developments in the recent past.

• India’s defence manufacturing sector recorded increased production to US$ 11.85 billion in FY22 from US$ 10.9 billion in FY21.
• India’s defence production stood at Rs. 17, 885 crore (US$ 2.24 billion) in FY 2022-23 (until 1 August, 2022)
• Defence production by PSUs stood at Rs. 10,831 crore (US$ 1.36 billion) in FY 2022-23 (until 1 August, 2022)
• The 3rd Edition of Vietnam India Bilateral Army Exercise “Ex VINBAX 2022” is scheduled to be conducted at Chandimandir from 1-20 August 2022.
• In June 2022, the Ministry of Defence approved the procurement of military equipment and platforms worth Rs. 76,390 crore (US$ 9.84 billion) from domestic industries.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the defence sector for April 2000-June 2022 stood at US$ 13.16 million, as per data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) signed a contract for the co-development and co-production of the Long Range Dual Band Infra-Red Search and Track System (IRST) for the Su-30 MKI under the MAKE-II procedure of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 as a part of the Make in India initiative.
• India and Japan have agreed to enhance bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence manufacturing in May 2022.
• The Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT-Kanpur (SIIC IIT-Kanpur) recently signed an MoU with Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) to nurture and support start ups and SMEs in the defence sector through its flagship programme iDEX Prime.
• HAL has built and delivered more than 150 military Do-228 and to a variety of customers. HAL has also constructed two civilian Do-228 aircrafts.
• In November 2021, Raksha Mantri, Mr. Rajnath Singh, inaugurated the first private operationalised defence manufacturing facility in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC), in Lucknow. The facility operated by Aerolloy Technologies — a wholly owned subsidiary of PTC industries — will manufacture parts for aircraft and helicopter engines, structural parts for aircrafts, drones and UAVs, submarines, ultra-light artillery guns, space launch vehicles and strategy systems.
• In November 2021, to demonstrate the growing India-Israeli technological cooperation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India and Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D), Ministry of Defence, Israel, entered a Bilateral Innovation Agreement (BIA) to promote innovation and R&D in start-ups and MSMEs of both countries for development of dual use technologies.
• The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully flight tested two indigenously-developed smart anti-airfield weapons in November 2021.
• The 11th Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) Group meeting between India and the United States (US) was held virtually on November 09, 2021. The aim of the DTTI Group is to focus on a bilateral defence trade relationship and create opportunities for co-production and development of defence equipment.
• In November 2021, the Indian Army signed an MoU with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG-N), Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The 12th edition of DefExpo, India’s flagship event showcasing land, naval, air and homeland security systems will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from March 10 to March 13, 2022. The aim of DefExpo-2022 is to build and achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in defence and increase defence exports to US$5 billion by 2024.
• To boost the Indian Government’s ‘self-reliant’ India initiative in June 2021, Defence Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh, approved the budgetary funds worth Rs. 498.8 crore (US$ 66.83 million) to Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), a Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) for the next five years.

To promote self-reliance in defence manufacturing it is necessary to develop robust government policies.

In the Union Budget 2022-23:

• Ministry of Defence has been allocated Rs 525,166 crore (US$ 67.66 billion)
• This includes expenditure on salaries of armed forces and civilians, pensions, modernisation of armed forces, production establishments, maintenance, and research and development organisations.
• The allocation to the Ministry of Defence is the highest (13%) among all ministries of the central government.
• Under Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti, 1474 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) (until September 30, 2022) have been granted/registered by the Indian Patent office.
• Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) displayed a wide range of 430 products encompassing the strategic and tactical weapon systems, defence equipment and technologies developed in DefExpo 2022 which was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from October 18–22, 2022.
• Indigenously developed Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) were successfully test-fired from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army at KK Ranges with support of Armoured Corps Centre & School (ACC&S) Ahmednagar in Maharashtra on August 04, 2022.
• According to data released by the Department of Defence Production, 68 artificial intelligence (AI) projects in the field of defence have been planned upto March, 2024, with 40 AI projects already completed as on 30 April, 2022.
• In order to promote Private Industry, MSMEs and Start-ups in defence production ecosystem, the Ministry of Defence has allocated 25% of domestic capital procurement/ acquisition budget, amounting to Rs. 21,149.47 crore (US$ 2.72 billion), for domestic private industry in FY 2022-23.
• The government has established two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs) in the country, one in Uttar Pradesh called the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC) and the other in Tamil Nadu called the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor (TNDIC), with the goal of attracting Rs. 10,000 crore (US$ 1.31 billion) in investment in each.
• In November 2021, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) boosted the ‘Make in India’ initiative by according Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) — to capital acquisition proposals worth Rs. 7,965 crore (US$ 1.07 billion) — for modernisation and operational needs of armed forces.
• On October 15, 2021, Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, dedicated the seven defence public sector undertakings (PSUs)—created through the restructuring of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)—to improve functional autonomy, efficiency, growth potential and innovation in the defence sector.
• Government formulated the ‘Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020’ to provide impetus to self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ scheme.
• To increase defence manufacturing in India and make the country a reliable weapon supplier to friendly countries, the Indian government allowed the following FDI limits in September 2020. For new licensees - FDI allowed up to 74% through automatic route; FDI beyond 74% would need to be permitted under the Govt. route. For existing Licensees - Infusion of new foreign investments up to 49% can be added by making declarations of change/transfer within 30 days.
• Defence ministry plans to put 101 defence items (artillery guns and assault rifles) under import embargo to offer potential military hardware manufacturing opportunities to the Indian defence industry.
• In February 2020, Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh at Aero India 2021 announced to reduce defence imports by at least US$ 2 billion by 2022.
• The defence ministry estimates potential contract worth ~Rs. 4 lakh crore (US$ 57.2 billion) for the domestic industry in the next 5-7 years (2025-2027).

The Indian government is focussing on innovative solutions to empower the country’s defence and security via ‘Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)’, which has provided a platform for start-ups to connect to the defence establishments and develop new technologies/products in the next five years (2021-2026). Working through partner incubators, iDEX has been able to attract the start-up community to participate in the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) programme.

In an effort to boost the defense sector and increase the infusion of FDI, the government in September 2020 revised the regulations and permitted FDI under the automatic route up to 74% and 100% through the government route in any area, where it is likely to provide access to contemporary technologies. The Defence Ministry has set a target of 70% self-reliance in weaponry by 2027, creating huge prospects for industry players. Green Channel Status Policy (GCS) has been introduced to promote and encourage private sector investments in defence production to promote the role of private sector in defence production. Given the government's emphasis on easing restrictions on foreign investment in order to achieve India's goal of an "Atmanirbhar Bharat," the growth trajectory of the Indian defense sector remain strong.