<p>For decades, India bought its wars abroad, where the shopping was discreet and contractual. A fighter jet from one country and a radar system from another. It was faster, safer and often cheaper to buy what already existed than to build it yourself. The problem, which only became obvious in moments of crisis, was that dependency has a way of announcing itself at the worst possible time. Over the past ten years, the Modi government has been trying quietly, but with increasing seriousness, to change that logic. Not by sealing India off from the world, but by rewiring the way the country defines and pays for defence capability. What is emerging is not just a “Make in India” slogan, but a structural shift in how research, design and manufacturing are pulled into the country. </p> <p>The most important change has been procedural. Defence procurement rules were rewritten so that Indian design and development are no longer decorative virtues but first-order criteria. Under the current framework, buying equipment that is indigenously designed and manufactured, sits at the top of the pecking order. In plain English, it means that if two systems meet the military’s needs, the one whose intellectual ownership sits in India gets preference, even if it is not the cheapest. That preference has teeth because it is backed by money. A growing share of the defence capital budget has been ring-fenced for domestic procurement. This is not a subsidy in the traditional sense, rather a demand assurance. Indian firms can invest in tooling and specialist talent, knowing that the buyer is not merely patriotic but contractually committed. The government has also learned that encouragement is not enough. So it has begun doing something far more uncomfortable – banning imports. Lists of items have been placed on timelines, after which imports are simply not allowed. This forces the system’s hand. If the armed forces or defence public sector undertakings want these items, they must develop them at home and accept the frustrations that come with first-time manufacturing. </p> <p>This is where new firms enter the picture. Companies like ideaForge, which began life building small unmanned aerial vehicles, now supply surveillance drones that are designed and assembled in India. NewSpace Research & Technologies, works on swarm drone systems and loitering munitions, areas once entirely dependent on imports. Tonbo Imaging, founded by former defence scientists, develops advanced thermal and night-vision optics. The SRIJAN portal, lists thousands of items that were earlier imported and invites Indian companies to step in. For a precision manufacturer in Coimbatore or a materials start-up in Poona, this visibility matters. Defence supply chains were once opaque and intimidating. Now, smaller firms can see what the military actually needs, rather than guessing from the outside. Innovation, long the weakest link in Indian defence, is being nudged into the system through schemes like iDEX, which are designed to support roughly 300 start-ups and innovators. These include firms working on everything from secure communications, to propulsion systems, sensors and battlefield software. These are modest sums meant to get prototypes built and taken seriously by users. Their significance lies less in cheque size and more in the signal that defence R&D is no longer the exclusive preserve of state laboratories.</p> <p>A quarter of the defence R&D budget has been opened to private industry and academia. These are domains where young firms and university labs move faster than monolithic institutions. None of this has been smooth. Delays and quality issues persist. The armed forces, remain cautious about betting on unproven suppliers. But something important has changed. Procurement has become an industrial strategy. India is still far from self-reliant in defence. But it is no longer gullible about dependence. And for the first time in decades, the system is being shaped to reward those willing to build, not just buy, the tools of national security.</p>
<p>For decades, India bought its wars abroad, where the shopping was discreet and contractual. A fighter jet from one country and a radar system from another. It was faster, safer and often cheaper to buy what already existed than to build it yourself. The problem, which only became obvious in moments of crisis, was that dependency has a way of announcing itself at the worst possible time. Over the past ten years, the Modi government has been trying quietly, but with increasing seriousness, to change that logic. Not by sealing India off from the world, but by rewiring the way the country defines and pays for defence capability. What is emerging is not just a “Make in India” slogan, but a structural shift in how research, design and manufacturing are pulled into the country. </p> <p>The most important change has been procedural. Defence procurement rules were rewritten so that Indian design and development are no longer decorative virtues but first-order criteria. Under the current framework, buying equipment that is indigenously designed and manufactured, sits at the top of the pecking order. In plain English, it means that if two systems meet the military’s needs, the one whose intellectual ownership sits in India gets preference, even if it is not the cheapest. That preference has teeth because it is backed by money. A growing share of the defence capital budget has been ring-fenced for domestic procurement. This is not a subsidy in the traditional sense, rather a demand assurance. Indian firms can invest in tooling and specialist talent, knowing that the buyer is not merely patriotic but contractually committed. The government has also learned that encouragement is not enough. So it has begun doing something far more uncomfortable – banning imports. Lists of items have been placed on timelines, after which imports are simply not allowed. This forces the system’s hand. If the armed forces or defence public sector undertakings want these items, they must develop them at home and accept the frustrations that come with first-time manufacturing. </p> <p>This is where new firms enter the picture. Companies like ideaForge, which began life building small unmanned aerial vehicles, now supply surveillance drones that are designed and assembled in India. NewSpace Research & Technologies, works on swarm drone systems and loitering munitions, areas once entirely dependent on imports. Tonbo Imaging, founded by former defence scientists, develops advanced thermal and night-vision optics. The SRIJAN portal, lists thousands of items that were earlier imported and invites Indian companies to step in. For a precision manufacturer in Coimbatore or a materials start-up in Poona, this visibility matters. Defence supply chains were once opaque and intimidating. Now, smaller firms can see what the military actually needs, rather than guessing from the outside. Innovation, long the weakest link in Indian defence, is being nudged into the system through schemes like iDEX, which are designed to support roughly 300 start-ups and innovators. These include firms working on everything from secure communications, to propulsion systems, sensors and battlefield software. These are modest sums meant to get prototypes built and taken seriously by users. Their significance lies less in cheque size and more in the signal that defence R&D is no longer the exclusive preserve of state laboratories.</p> <p>A quarter of the defence R&D budget has been opened to private industry and academia. These are domains where young firms and university labs move faster than monolithic institutions. None of this has been smooth. Delays and quality issues persist. The armed forces, remain cautious about betting on unproven suppliers. But something important has changed. Procurement has become an industrial strategy. India is still far from self-reliant in defence. But it is no longer gullible about dependence. And for the first time in decades, the system is being shaped to reward those willing to build, not just buy, the tools of national security.</p>
