New reforms will make India self-reliant in defence sector: DRDO Chairman

In an exclusive interview with senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah, DRDO chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said that the new reforms introduced by the central government will make India self-reliant in the defence sector. He added that the development of indigenous technology will produce more employment and attract foreign currency into the country.

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced a slew of new reform measures for the defence sector and industry participants have come out applauding the government for its decisions. In a big reform measure, the Centre decided to raise the limit for foreign direct investment (FDI) for defence manufacturing from 49 to 74 per cent under the automatic route.

In a conversation with ETV Bharat, Defence Research & Development (DRDO) Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy highlighted the different aspects of these reforms and how they will prove to be beneficial to India and make it self-reliant in the defence sector.

Here are the highlights from the conversation:

• So far, there is no list as to which products will continue to be imported into the country in the near future, but it might soon be prepared. India has gradually made itself capable of producing technologies like missiles, radar technologies and electronic warfare, which means it might not need to import products from other countries in the coming years. Indian industries have geared themselves for the challenge of developing indigenous systems. This will in turn help industries in India to flourish and in no time, there will be a number of two and three-tier industries in the country.

• India spends a lot of money on the procurement of spare parts from other countries. With the new reforms, it can invest the same money in developing them endogenously. This will in a way provide leverage to Indian industries and bring about a lot of foreign exchange into the country. As foreign countries begin to invest in India, the industrial sector will begin to flourish with no disturbance in the supply chain. India is on its way to becoming self-reliant in the defence sector.

• Raising the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to 74 per cent has opened doors for foreign investment in India. The more the number of industries in the country, the more self-sufficient will India become in terms of defence technologies. Indigenous production will also produce more employment opportunities in India. If everything goes right, it might also begin to export products to other countries in some years.

• DRDO's role has become more important with the announcement of new reforms. Its' rules of working will surely be stricter now that it is not working individually. The DRDO is a technology provider, not developer, it will continue to provide new technology and industries will have to continue to build them.