ABSTRACT

India’s defence industrialisation can be traced to the year 1801 when the British set up the first gun factory in Cossipore near Kolkata. Since then, India has developed one of the largest defence industrial complexes in the world with 39 ordinance factories (two under construction), 9 defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs), a small but emerging private sector and 52 defence research and development laboratories, responsible for designing and developing armaments. The range of equipment produced by this complex is extensive and includes small arms and ammunition, fighter aircrafts, frigates, submarines, tanks, radars, etc. The 39 ordinance factories and 9 DPSUs alone employed a work force of 180,000 people and produced items worth INR <46,348 billion (approximately US$ 10 billion) in 2011-12.1 Indigenisation and self-reliance in defence have been given high priority since India’s independence. The leadership has been reiterating these objectives from time to time. And yet, 66 years after attaining freedom from British rule, India remains the world’s largest importer of arms.2 This article seeks to trace the postindependence growth of India’s defence industry, assess the present state of industrial infrastructure and indigenisation, analyse the policy initiatives taken to strengthen India’s defence industrial base and to finally consider a few measures which can accelerate its further development.