Diversifying defence

India-Russia relations need careful handling

If there is a single lesson that India must learn from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, it is the need to deliberately diversify the sources from which we procure our defence equipment. At its core, the prime minister’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-sufficient India) campaign aims to rely on nobody but ourselves for the weapons and equipment needed to fight and win a war. However, since full self-sufficiency would take years to achieve, a clear intermediate goal is essential: To ensure that we are not unhealthily dependent on a single country, strategic grouping, or company for our defence equipment. Our reliance on Russia