Defence indigenisation, procurement top goals for govt: Defence Secy

The Blueprint Discourse: Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said India is accelerating defence indigenisation, boosting private sector role and strategic autonomy; budget not a constraint

India's Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Saturday said that speeding up defence procurement and doubling down on indigenisation, as emphasised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remain core objectives of the government.

 

In the course of a fireside chat at The Blueprint Discourse, moderated by Business Standard's Editorial Director AK Bhattacharya, Singh said: "The events around the world validate that thrust towards indigenisation, and we intend to double down on that. All of our priorities haven't changed. After Operation Sindoor, it just makes it a bit more urgent."

 

He further said that his priorities at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) remain consistent, even after Operation Sindoor. "I don't think there has been any change in my priorities. From day one, when I joined the Ministry of Defence, I saw it as an extension of my previous job, which was secretary DPIT, except that the focus would now be on a sector, defence industry, rather than the entire industrial or manufacturing landscape of the country," Singh said.

 

On the status of indigenisation, Singh described it as a phased process. "You can't sort of reach the destination overnight. You have to look at all the domains in our defence industrial sector and see the technology readiness levels across different technologies, and take pragmatic decisions."

 

Singh highlighted areas where India has achieved high self-reliance, such as artillery, armoured systems, long-range missiles, and multi-barrel rocket launchers. "There are others where TRL (technology readiness level) levels are between five to eight. Promising results have come through DRDO, but to reach manufacturing levels, we still have some time to go. In some cases, limited technology transfer or calibrated imports may be required."

 

Full IPR ownership is the goal

 

On the strategic meaning of indigenisation, Singh explained, "True indigenisation would mean that the entire design and intellectual property rights (IPR) rest within the country. You might still need some components from outside, but the design and IPR remain in India."

 

He compared it to industrial examples like Maruti and Apple, noting that localisation grows over time: "You start with low localisation levels, but as the ecosystem expands, it grows. The ultimate idea should be to achieve full IPR within the country."

 

Singh acknowledged that defence preparedness cannot wait for indigenisation to fully mature. "You can't allow a capability void to persist while you wait for promised indigenous products. That's why we set targets like 75 per cent of our capital budget being spent domestically. Post Operation Sindoor, the forces can also resort to emergency procurement up to 15 per cent of their capex to fill critical gaps."

 

Reducing import dependence

 

"Indigenisation in defence also considers supply chain vulnerabilities and import dependence," Singh noted. "The Prime Minister has stressed reducing import dependence and improving strategic autonomy. We need a diversified industrial base, involving both public and private sectors, to meet our requirements for missiles, ships, aircraft, and munitions."

 

On private sector involvement, Singh said, "Conventional PPP is not the issue. Our goal is to leverage buying power to develop domestic industry. Last year, 88 per cent of our capital expenditure went to domestic suppliers, above the 75 per cent target."

 

He emphasised removing bottlenecks and ensuring level playing fields for private players: "Private sector companies can bid for anything. DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) licenses its technology free of cost, and private companies increasingly leverage this. Access to technology is not an issue." 

Most of the current R&D is being done by DRDO with very little coming from the private sector, he pointed out, adding that "DRDO licenses its technology to the private sector which can take advantage of that".

 

Singh also mooted the idea of DRDO charging a small royalty for sharing its technology, noting, "My own view is that perhaps we should start charging a little amount because it is not valued."

 

Public sector units and DRDO reforms

 

Singh highlighted the ongoing role of public sector units (PSUs) and DRDO in India’s defence ecosystem: "We have 16 central PSUs, including seven new ones. They have done well and continue to secure domestic and export orders. Competition will make them stronger."

 

He added that discussions are underway to restructure DRDO for faster delivery of technology platforms and to provide greater private sector access to labs and testing infrastructure.

 

Focus areas for India's defence strategy

 

Singh outlined three key areas for India’s defence strategy: overwhelming asymmetry vis-a-vis Western adversaries, deterrent capacity vis-a-vis northern adversaries, and dominance in the Indian Ocean.

 

He also noted that while defence budgets are rising globally, they are doing so on mostly stagnant economies, whereas India's economy is growing at a nominal rate of 10 per cent. Thus, even if the percentage of defence in the Union Budget does not increase much, it does rise in absolute terms because of the overall growth of the economy.

 

He also assured that there would be no constraint on modernisation budgets: "Our economy is growing at a nominal rate of 10 per cent, and the Services have said this is sufficient at this point. Before the Finance Commission, I am projecting about 17 per cent of nominal GDP."

 

On addressing the shortage of critical minerals, Singh added: "The Ministry of Environment has issued notifications treating certain minerals as strategic assets with faster environmental processing, waiving public consultation requirements to compress timelines."