The second leg of the Budget session got underway on Monday. Kartikeya Sharma, a Rajya Sabha member, questioned the government about the status of the manufacturing in the defence industry.
The defence ministry categorically responded that the cost of purchasing defence from foreign sources has reduced from 46% of overall expenditure in 2018-19 to 36.7% in December, 2022.
Apart form this numerous manufacturing projects are ongoing in the nation, including the production of the 155 mm artillery gun system “Dhanush,” the Light Combat Aircraft “Tejas,” the Surface to Air Missile system “Akash,” the Main Battle Tank “Arjun,” the T-90 Tank, the T-72 Tank, the Armoured Personnel Carrier “BMP-II/IIK,” the Su-30 MK1, the Cheetah Helicopter, Advanced Light Helicopter, Dornier Do-228 many more have been produced in the country during the last few years.” The yong MP asked a second question about the number of “Made in India” factories in the state of Haryana. According to the defence ministry, “Defence Industrial sector came into force in May 2001 up to 100% for Indian private sector participation. Since then, 34 businesses in Haryana have received a total of 47 industrial licenses. These businesses manufacture a variety of defence devices, including fuse devices, night vision devices, bulletproof vests and jackets, among others.
In response to inquiries about whether the government has been successful in lowering the import of defence equipments, exports of guns produced under the “Made in India” programme have surged over the past five years.
In a written response, the government stated that many policies had been implemented in recent years to support domestic design, development, and production of defence equipment in the country.
With a longer validity period, the government has streamlined the industrial licence process. 74% of foreign direct investment (FDI) is now allowed through automatic route. The Launch of Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX) plan, which connects startups and Micro, Small and Medium Businesses, is the other significant accomplishment (MSMEs). A portal has been established named RIJAN to enable indigenization by Indian business, including MSMEs. Also, the government has promoted the 2017 implementation of the Public Procurement (Preference to Made in India) Order. There are now two defence industrial corridors, one in Tamil Nadu and one in Uttar Pradesh. Together with this launch, 25% of the funding for defence research and development was also used to fund R&D for business, entrepreneurs, and academics. The amount allotted for the defence budget has increased in order to modernise for domestic procurement, among other things.
