ABSTRACT
India’s defence industry has historically been dominated by the public sector entities, with the private sector playing a marginal role. The performance of the public sector has, however, been less than optimal, leading to India’s overwhelming dependence on external sources for armament requirement. To improve the functioning of the Indian defence industry, the Indian government has launched a host of reforms under the umbrella of Make in India initiative. Under the programme, emphasis has particularly been on facilitating increased participation of the private sector in defence production. The reform measures, while paving the way for higher domestic defence production, is unlikely to increase dramatically India’s self-reliance, since many big-ticket items with a shelf-life of up to half a century are still intended to be procured from foreign suppliers.
