By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — Even as the Indian government has given top priority to domestic defense industry to acquire weaponry, estimated around $150 billion in the next ten years, foreign defense companies will remain major players, officials acknowledge.
At present domestic companies are simply not considered mature enough to build large platforms and weapon systems by themselves. However, some select private sector defense companies could "become major defense players in the long run," a senior Ministry of Defense official said.
“Lack of coordination among private players and legal complications could delay the MoD’s forthcoming strategic partners policy, part of the 'Make in India’ initiative, which allows domestic private defense companies to build large [defense] platforms on a nomination basis,” the MoD official added.
But the government cannot wait for the planned policy to hamper defense modernization and new acquisitions, the official said, adding that the defense ministry may permit foreign manufacturers to choose their Indian partners.
"The [Indian] industry may not completely edge out the foreign original equipment manufacturers in the short to medium term as the prime suppliers of defense equipment to the Indian armed forces. Till such time as that happens, foreign companies will continue to play an important, if not a major role, in MoD’s scheme of things," says Amit Cowshish, a former MoD financial adviser.
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