Date: 09/01/2023

Relevance: GS-3: Defence-Indigenization of Technology

Key Phrases: Aatmanirbhar Bharat, China’s aggression, Agnipath scheme, Aatmanirbhar force, INS Vikrant, Defence governance, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), self-reliance.

Why in News?

• The push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliance, by the Ministry of Defence has started bearing fruitful results, though there are issues with the processes, outcomes, and governance architecture, besides investment in core technology projects.

Increase Indigenisation:

• The government launched Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme on May 13, 2020, offering a template to reduce reliance on imports and increase the indigenisation of equipment used by armed forces.
• The government took many steps to walk the path of reform, which the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would like to spread out in making the military into a “youthful, modern and Aatmanirbhar force”.
• Push factors for indigenisation:
  • The face-off with China in the Galwan sector of Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
  • Covid pandemic brought additional weight to lend a sense of meaning and urgency to the idea of making India self-reliant in the defence sector.
  • China’s aggression at the other end of the LAC in the Yangtse valley of Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, and in the Indo-Pacific Region
  • Continued Russia-Ukraine war.

Efforts to make the military an Aatmanirbhar force:

• Defence exports:
  • Total allocation:
    • The total allocation under capital outlay of defence services was enhanced to ₹1.52- lakh crore in the budget for 2022-23.
    • Of that 68 per cent of the capital procurement budget was earmarked for domestic industry to boost self-reliance.
  • Increase in export:
    • Defence exports zoomed by 334 per cent in the last five years, reaching a record ₹13,000 crore in the financial year 2021-22, according to the MoD.
    • India is now exporting defence equipment to over 75 countries, including the US, the Philippines, and countries in South East, Africa and the Middle East.
• Agnipath scheme:
  • The official pitch for introducing this transformative scheme was to make the forces youthful and tech-enabled, the underpinning was to reduce lofty pension bills on the treasury.
  • The first batch of Agniveers, selected from over 54 lakhs registration in the Army, Air Force and Navy, have joined and the impact assessment on tri-services will take at least a year.
• INS Vikrant:
  • The launch of the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, wrapped by the Ministry as “Red letter day for Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, has catapulted India among a select few nations of the US, Russia, China, the UK and France which can design and manufacture their own warships of such capabilities.
• C-295:
  • Foundation laying of the C-295 transport manufacturing facility at Vadodara is another feat of the 2022 calendar.
• Other Inductions:
  • The Ministry has also approved two dozen induction interests among others for light tanks and cruise missiles while the decision is pending on the test report to procure either of the two naval versions from Dassault Aviation of France and Boeing of the United States of America to replace the ageing fleet of Mig 29Ks.

Need for reforms:

• Defence governance:
  • The government will have to bring in reform in the defence governance architecture, especially intervening to make the manpower:
    • skilled,
    • reform-oriented and
    • driven on times-lines-based quality outcomes.
  • Domain expert:
    • The government should encourage the entry of more domain experts into the Defence Ministry, given that the infusion of new technology and artificial intelligence has challenged the conventional military doctrine and decision-making.
  • Sectoral strength:
    • At the secretarial staff level, even Agniveers with a tech bent of mind can be trained to acquire sectoral strength which is important to understand and process requirements of new age armaments.
  • Facilitation:
    • The industry and the armed forces strongly believe in having officialdom that should act as a facilitator and not otherwise.
• Rationalisation of processes:
  • Legacy issues:
    • Rationalisation of processes overburdened by legacy issues is another area that requires deep dive.
  • Integration of tri-services:
    • The Ministry should prepare itself for facilitating the integration of tri-services which would demand, to say the least, a re-look at the legislative framework and rules and regulations.
    • For instance, a common procurement website can have hyperlinks leading to the three services. This would also help the industry to get over the online clutter.
  • Engaging stakeholders:
    • The Ministry which has opened up quite a fold in comparison to the past, needs to engage the stakeholders right from the conceptualisation stage so that end demand can be delivered by the domestic players and reduces time lag which India can ill afford given China’s belligerence and the threat of war cannot be ruled out.
• Accountability and transparency:
  • It is also desirable to reform Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Accountability and transparency have to be seeded into the functioning of the DRDO which, however, has delivered Make in India products for securing the nation.
  • Serious introspection is needed over the CAG indictment of the DRDO – that 20 of 86 mission mode projects were “declared successful” overlooking that they did not achieve one or more objectives despite spending more than ₹1,000 crores on them.

Conclusion:

• With the defence sector import content reduced to the historical low of 36 percent in 2020-21, India is within easy reach of her stated vision of self-reliance in this sector.
• This achievement has been and will continue to be a function of matching capabilities in a large number of other domains linked with nation-building.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. India still requires significant reforms in the governance of the defence sector in order to generate a "youthful, modern, and Aatmanirbhar force," despite notable efforts to realise the declared aim of self-reliance in the defence sector. Critically examine.