The Defence Ministry on Sunday came out with a list of 101 military items that would not be imported anymore, realising a proposal announced by the BJP-led central government three months ago.
To be implemented over the next four years, the negative list of imports is likely to spawn indigenous production of military hardware in tune with the Narendra Modi government’s pet scheme of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).
Much, however, would depend on the extent of participation by the Indian private sector in manufacturing such products because in its present format the list of 101 embargoed items is a veritable inventory of the items already developed by defence public sector undertakings and ordnance factories and used by the armed forces.
The move was first announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May as a part of the measures being undertaken by the Modi government to come out of the economic crisis precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Between April 2015 and August 2020, the three services imported military equipment and components worth Rs 3.5 lakh crores. “With the latest embargo on import of 101 items, it is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs four lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next five to seven years,” the ministry said in a statement.
Of these, items worth Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the army and the air force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the navy over the same period.
Neither the statement nor the list, however, clarifies how many of the items currently being imported by the military are on the embargoed list.
For instance, the list carried two satellites for the armed forces GSAT-7C and GSAT-7R that are on the embargoed list from December 2023. The fact, however, is that for decades Indian satellites are always made at home as there is no question of importing a satellite.
Since the list contains products already manufactured by the Indian defence PSU, ordnance factories or private companies, it contains several artillery guns manufactured by the private and public sector over the last seven-eight years.
In addition, the list contains LCA Tejas (manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd), the second assembly line of six diesel electric submarines (a Made in India project as per the Modi government’s own announcements) and several types of radars (manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited).
“The Defence Minister promised a ‘bang’ on a Sunday morning and ended with a ‘whimper.’ The only importer of defence equipment is the Defence Ministry. Any import embargo is really an embargo on oneself. What the Defence Minister said in his historic Sunday announcement deserved only an Office Order from the Minister to his Secretaries!” said Congress leader P Chidambaram.
Read | Rajnath Singh promised a ‘bang’, ended with a ‘whimper’: P Chidambaram
The defence ministry has bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement this year.
India’s capital budget for defence acquisition stands at Rs 1.13 lakh crore in the current fiscal.