Latest News International: Indian Army Will Stop Import of all Kinds of Ammunition from 2025 Onward
The Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has been pursuing the goal of total self reliance in defence ever since it came to power in May 2014. The outcome of this policy has been quite impressive with some or other milestone in defence production becoming the top 5 latest news headlines over the last decade.
In this series of accomplishments a recent announcement by the Indian Army is now trending. The army had asserted that from 2025 onward, its entire procurement of ammunition will be sourced from indigenous sources.
Source: News.Careers360
This is an extremely important development for India’s defence planners because it gives India tremendous leverage in the event of a war breaking out against enemy nations. The Ukraine War has revealed to Indian defence strategists the importance of self-reliance in defence matters.
The Russian army is firing 10,000 artillery shells every day against the Ukranian Army as per latest news international. In response the Ukrainian Army is firing just 2,000 artillery shells at the Russian army every day and almost the entire ordinance is procured from other countries.
The Russian defence industry produces 250,000 munitions every month and about 3 million every year. In comparison, the US and Europe together produces just 1.2 million munitions in a year out of which they are supplying a sizable quantity to Ukraine.
One of the prime reasons why Russia is winning the war in Ukraine today is because of its self reliance in matters of defence procurement items. In addition to that Russia is also self-sufficient in energy resources.
Defence planners in India are watching closely
This has been an eye opener for Indian defence planners if one goes by the top 5 latest news headlines over the past several years.
Source: NewsBharati
Total self-reliance in defence procurement is one of those factors that ensured Russian resilience in managing the war on one hand and confronting economic sanctions by the US-led west on the other.
Indian defence planners had foreseen the need for self reliance in defence procurement long back but their voices and suggestions were not heard by earlier Congress governments.
That was because they were led by corrupt and unethical leaders who were doing under-the-table deals with foreign arms suppliers and their agents in India.
As a result, the Indian defence market became the playground of agents representing scores of defence product suppliers from different parts of the world according to the latest news international.
Defence production in India is growing exponentially
The patriotic government of the BJP-led NDA under the leadership of Narendra Modi that came to power in 2014 has turned the entire defence industrial eco-system of the country on its head.
When the Modi government took office in 2014, India’s procurement of indigenously produced defence equipment and ordinance was just 38%. India has set a target of 75% procurement of defence products from indigenous sources for the financial year 2024-25. This includes many items that are entirely procured from indigenous sources.
Out of a total of 4,666 listed items that the security forces procure every year, the Indian defence industry has been able to indigenize 2,920 items completely.
The head of the Indian Air Force, Air chief Marshal, VR Chaudhari recently disclosed that the Indian Air force (IAF) now procures over 60,000 components from domestic sources.
Source: DailyExcelsior
The other silver lining in this amazing growth of the Indian defence industry is the quantum leap in exports that has been achieved. In FY 2023-24, India’s defence exports have crossed Rs. 21,000 crores or $25 billion, which is 30% of India’s defence budget!
What is most impressive is that this figure is 5 times more than India’s total defence exports from 2004-14 when the Congress-led UPA was in power as per top 5 latest news headlines!
The total export revenue of the Indian defence industry during the period 2014-24 under the BJP-led NDA government is Rs. 88,319 crores or $105 billion, which is a staggering figure.
Modi government is methodically transforming India’s defence capability
Before the Modi government came to power the Indian defence industry was handicapped by old archaic laws, red tape and rampant corruption in the bureaucracy that had become steep barriers to crucial foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector.
Source: EconomicTimes
This government took steps to remove many unnecessary laws and regulations and modify many others enough to make it easy for overseas defence original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to find ideal local partners and operate profitably in India.
This resulted in over $3.5 billion worth of FDI into the Indian defence industry as per top 5 latest news headlines resulting in an impressive leap in indigenous defence production capacity as mentioned earlier.
In recent years the department of defence has been issuing 40-50 licenses on average to businesses that wanted to set up defence production companies in India.
The government has put its weight behind the growth and development of the defence industry in India. The support is not just for the big names like Tata, Mahindra, L&T or Kalyani but also for a large number of micro small and medium enterprises.
The Indian defence industry is expected to grow at the rate of 30% annually till 2030 and at that point of time India will be among the biggest defence manufacturers in the world. It also means that India’s own defence procurement cost will be much less and offer a great deal more value for the money spent. The quality of Indian defence products has already made a deep impact on countries that are purchasing them and that is evident in the way India’s defence exports have grown. Self-reliance in defence will consolidate India’s position as a great power if not a super power going forward.
