Indigenisation in defence technologies:
India’s successive abstentions during votes on Ukraine in the UN Security Council and elsewhere may be hard to justify on moral grounds, but they are certainly rooted in “realpolitik”.
Reasons for India’s stance:
- There is irrefutable logic in the argument that safeguarding the source of 60-70 per cent of its military hardware constitutes a prime national interest for India.
- Any interruption in the supply of Russian arms or spares could have a devastating impact on our defence posture vis-à-vis the China-Pak axis.
- Seen widely as pro-Russian, this posture is likely to affect India’s international standing and bears reflection.
Suggestion:
- India needs a “de-Russification of the armed forces” and the genuine “indigenisation of India’s defence technological and industrial base (DTIB)”
- Russia’s military-industrial complex, in oligarch hands, has been struggling against inefficiency, poor quality control and deficient customer support. It is time to initiate a process of progressive “de-Russification” of Indian armed forces.
- Atmanirbharta requires selective identification of vital military technologies in which we are deficient and demands the initiation of well-funded, time-bound, mission-mode projects to develop (or acquire) the “know-how” as well as “know-why” of these technologies.
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