General Manoj Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Chief of the Army Staff says that Indian army is moving from being a buyer of weapons to becoming a partner of Indian industry in development and production. The concept of national champions has been adopted to build suppliers with national and global scale, he said.
General Pande said it while addressing AIMA’s National Leadership Conclave.
He pointed out that Indian defence industry is investing in research and advanced production techniques and the forces are supporting them by providing a viable market. He mentioned that about 340 indigenous arms producers have contracts worth Rs 2.6 lakh crore.
General Pande said that Indian army is aiming to increase the ratio of the latest weapon systems in its inventory by 2030 and reduce the share of the vintage systems. “Immediate replacement of the vintage systems is neither feasible nor desirable, and we will space out upgrades,” he said.
He pointed out that today Indian army’s ammunition inventory has 175 variants, of which 134 are made by DRDO and public sector defence companies, and private companies are being onboarded.
The payoff from the indigenization strategy are visible,” General said, pointing out that India’s defence exports in the 2023-24 reached Rs 21,000 crore, an increase of 30 times over the past five years, and a lot of those exports came from the private sector.
In addition to promoting self-reliance in weapon production, Indian forces are running 120 projects to indigenize development of 45 niche technologies to make Indian forces future ready, according to General Pande. “We need to speed up the adoption of commercially available technologies,” he said.
Indian Army is observing 2024 as the year of technology absorption with emphasis on indigenously sourcing all that is necessary to fight - not just weapons but also ammunition, spares and maintenance needs, he said.
General Pande stressed that India needs to increase its hard power to support the growth of its economy. He said that in the current geostrategic landscape, countries are not hesitating to go to war.
“One cannot outsource security,” he said referring to the supply disruption during covid and Russia-Ukraine war. He highlighted that the countries that have the latest weapons and technologies will never share those and an importing country will always be a generation behind in war capabilities.
Referring to Exercise Bharat Shakti, held at Pokhran last month, General Pande said that it demonstrated the capability and reliability of made-in-India weapon platforms that are already in service with the armed forces.
The session was moderated by Mr Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman & Managing Director, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. He welcomed the army’s initiative to partner the industry in growing the arms industry in India. “We look forward to increased cooperation and collaboration between army and the industry,” he said.
In response to a question about the delay in the formation of a unified command for all forces, General Pande said that the four chiefs are discussing the issue, as it is complex and they must get it right. “We need to have a solution that is tailormade for our requirement,” he said.
The session was livestreamed on AIMA’s social media channels.
Quick 
Submit Enquiry