Indigenous Production of Defence Products

In News

• Recently, 18 major platforms have been identified by the Ministry of Defence for industry led Design & Development under various routes.

List of 18 Major Platforms

• Make-I Category:
  • About: 
    • Under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, ‘Make’ Category aims to achieve self-reliance by involving greater participation of Indian industry.  
    • Projects involving design and development of equipment, systems, major platforms or upgrades thereof by the industry can be taken up under this category. 
  • Financial Support:
    • The Ministry of Defence will provide financial support up to 70% of the total cost of prototype development.
• Make-II Category:
  • It is funded by industry with assured procurement. The following platform has been listed –
    • Anti-jamming Systems for Multiple Platforms
• Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Model:
  • Under this, private industry will be encouraged to take up design and development of military platforms and equipment in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other organisations.  
  • Following two platforms have been identified under this category.
    • Long Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) [High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE)]
    • Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH)
• iDEX:
  • Projects of Start-ups, MSMEs etc. involving high-end innovation would be pursued under the iDEX category and the following platform has been selected under this category –
    • Low Orbit Pseudo Satellites

Significance

• Development of Industry: The indigenous development of these projects will help harness the design capabilities of the domestic defence industry.
• Global Footing: Such developments will position India as a design leader in these technologies.
• Serving the needs of armed forces: The list of ‘Make-II’ projects is dynamic in nature and the projects which are relevant to the requirements of Indian Armed forces.
• Greater Efficiency: It will accord greater efficiency in attaining operational preparedness of the Defence Services. 
• More Employment: This will give a chance to employing more people in India and thereby increasing the Growth parameters of the Economy.

Challenges

• Negligence of Agriculture:
  • The most negative impact of these Projects will be in the agriculture sector of India. 
  • With the introduction of industrial sectors, agriculture in India will be neglected somewhat.
• Impact on Imports:
  • With the introduction of the Make in India campaign, the economy is likely to rely completely on manufacturing and exporting while the import industry will remain static. 
  • This eventually will be a huge loss for the other economic sectors and would automatically reduce the advancement of Make in India.
• Bureaucratic Hassles: 
  • The bureaucratic approach of governments of India has always made it difficult for foreign investors to set up industries in India. 
• Loopholes in laws and infrastructure: 
  • Lack of proper infrastructure and not so good labour laws refrain investors from investing in India. 
• Bad Relations with China:
  • India’s long-term feud with China, gradually with the success of Make in India, is possible to worsen.

Way Ahead

• There is a need for DPSUs and OFB to identify their core and strategic operations and outsource the non-core activities to the Indian Private Sector. 
• In the coming years, OFB and DPSUs would have to increasingly compete with private players including global companies for getting orders from Defence Customers.
• Further, continuous technology upgrades will be required to cater to changing customer needs. 

Source: IE