Privatisation of India's Defense Industry and the Dangers Ahead
What I present here is not an argument against involving India's private industry in the design, development and manufacturing of weapons and ammunition. Rather, it is a forewarning about the potential dangers that may arise if India proceeds down this path without adequate safeguards. Since independence, India's armed forces have been heavily reliant on imports to meet their requirements for arms and ammunition. India has also endeavoured to develop a domestic arms industry to achieve self-reliance in this domain. This industry has been predominantly government-owned, with minimal participation from the private sector. However, since the economic reforms of 1991 and the subsequent growth of India's private sector, there have been increasing demands to enhance its role in meeting the country's arms requirements. This demand stems primarily from the inability of government-owned defence public sector undertakings (PSUs) to design, develop, and produce cutting-edge mili...