Last week, India’s biennial defence manufacturing exhibition, Defexpo 2020, was held in Lucknow, heart of the Uttar Pradesh defence-industrial corridor. UP CM Yogi Adityanath described it as the ‘Maha Kumbh’ of defence manufacturing. He was fascinated perhaps by the scale—unprecedented, with over 1,000 exhibitors, 15 lakh visitors, daily live demonstrations of military capability in mock operational setting, military cooperation-conference of defence ministers of 30 countries. The Ministry of Defence, Department of Defence Production and the UP government had done a commendable job. The growing array of indigenous military hardware on display indicates that Make in India is making a difference in the defence sector.
India was the highest defence importer until 2018, when it climbed down a step from its long-held position. India’s defence sector has been open to direct private sector participation since 2001, but there wasn’t enough enthusiasm due to an indifferent policy and lack of access to...
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