India has set up to ban $47 billion worth of imports that include communication satellites, conventional submarines and light machine guns. India’s move to ban the import of certain weapon systems will do little to boost local manufacturing and is sowing uncertainty at a time when the South Asian nation is trying to ramp up defenses on its restive borders with China and Pakistan, according to analysts.
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Key-Points
The push for locally-produced systems and hardware was a big step toward self-reliance in defense and creates an opportunity for the Indian defense industry to manufacture the items using their own design and development capabilities.
Similar policy declarations to stem imports were made by India in 2013, under then prime minister Manmohan Singh, and also by Modi’s administration in his first term in 2018, didn’t significantly increase the ‘Made in India’ products deployed by the military.
The banned list is also vague on the position of joint-ventures between Indian and foreign manufacturers and license produced weapon systems.
Despite its drawbacks, India’s nascent defense industry is cautiously optimistic about the new policy.
