Make in India, A Road Riddled With Hurdles But Not Impossible

BENGALURU: For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Make in India is not just a set goal but a dream. It is a dream of Making in India for the world. It is a mammoth task which might take decades or even more to establish a brand called ‘Made in India’. Agreed. But one cannot strike out the chances of Make in India dream taking a physical form. It is a doable task by all means.

All eyes are set on India as it takes baby steps towards carving out its own space in the brutally competitive world of arms trade. Modi is all set to make an aggressive pitch for the campaign as he inaugurates the biennial air show in Bangalore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a conducive environment for manufacturers, including a discrimination-free tax system, and asked foreign firms not to be just "sellers" but "strategic partners".

There are some insurmountable odds that are stacked against India as it imports 65pct of its military requirements. Modi says that reducing defense equipment imports will reap rich economic benefits. The domestic defense sector is struggling to come of age and foreign suppliers doubt its capability and in such a scenario to be ‘strategic partners’ might be difficult but not impossible.

Pratyush Kumar, who heads U.S. aerospace major Boeing’s business in India points that “The focus has to be on areas that make economic sense and where India is really competitive. India has good engineering talent and skills in the software sector. That’s a good place to start.”

Modi inspires optimism in India, and across the globe. The country can pull it off with solid support from the government—policies aimed at increasing ease of doing business, scaling up research and development infrastructure, and harnessing the strengths of the public and private sector.

Prime Minister says that while the country needs to increase its defense preparedness and modernize its forces due to security challenges that were well known. He aims to to manufacture 70 percent of military hardware domestically in next five years and remove the tag of being number one importer of defence equipment.

However Make in India lures foreign suppliers to partner with domestic players to produce next-generation submarines, light utility helicopters, artillery guns, minesweepers, missiles and other military hardware with Indian players. India is poised to spend $250 million on new weapons over the next 10 years.

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