There has been a clamour for becoming Atma-nirbhar (Self-reliant) in all manufacturing disciplines starting with the auto industry, telecom, medicine and even defence. The ‘Made in India’ slogan has been replaced by ‘Atma-nirbhar’. Looking at the recent pandemic and the mad rush for medical equipment and vaccine, it makes immense sense to be self-reliant in today’s world. While it may be easy to be self-reliant in some fields it’s a herculean task when it comes defence industry.
India ranks fourth in defence expenditure. Rapidly we are vying the top three spots. India’s yearly budget for the defence for the year 2018 amounted to 3.1% of our GDP. While India’s defence spending is high, yet it is nowhere close to China. While India’s defence budget was around USD 66.5 Billion in 2018, for the same period China’s military spending was approx. USD 250 billion US, almost four times higher. The continued friction between India and China over several issues has ensured that relations remain volatile between the two neighbours. Tense relations have necessitated, India maintains a two-front confrontation capable force. Such a capability comes at a considerable cost. Read More…
