Due to the geopolitical situation, it becomes crucial for India to maintain its regional sovereignty. India needs to maintain its autonomy over the border regions. India needs to have upgraded defence products and strategic sovereignty over these defence products. To achieve this strategic sovereignty, India has to be a self-reliant defence industry that would automatically strengthen the Indian economy. There is a need to induce modernised radars and switch drones, the Indian army to detect suspicious activities and invasion of border areas. They also need to understand that they cannot always depend on the impulsive purchase of defence products during trouble. 

Defence Modernization

Defence Modernization is a complex process that includes simple changes in elements’ competencies to execute all the strategic objectives. A strong and well-equipped military provides a nation with the indemnity to endure attack and restrain groundless aggression from external sources. It reflects the nation’s military ability to safeguard itself from hostile countries. Therefore, every country must update their technology and upgrade its weapons and surveillance system inventory. The countries strongly believe that a solid defence and safety structure can conquer any threat to sovereignty. Due to technological advancement, there was development in advanced weapons, and many nations have adopted them. They should manufacture the defence goods in India itself, and it will also help create employment opportunities. 

Initiatives for modernisation of the defence sector

Self-Reliant and Make-in-India: The employment opportunity in the defence sector will increase. The government has included artillery guns and combat choppers in the Indian army drone list. All these items will not be imported; thus, they will be made in India, promoting a self-reliant India. To facilitate the initiatives, the SRIJAN portal has also been launched. Defence modernisation is an impression of the growth of national tenacity to have a treasurable armed force to achieve the legitimate mission to support peace.

The Government has taken many initiatives, like de-licensing, export promotion, deregulation, encouraging FDI etc., to mitigate the defence industry.

The Defence ministry decided to allot around 64% of its modernisation funds under the capital acquisitions budget for Rs 70,221crore for purchases from the domestic sector.

Challenges Associated with Modernization

• National Security Concerns and Defence Preparedness: Today, India faces the most tangled terror and challenges, such as the revolution in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-Eastern States and territorial disputes with China and Pakistan. It has been seen that China is the most powerful military threat to India because it has nuclear missiles and military hardware. Moreover, China and Pakistan have joined hands against India, implying India might have to face a two-front war in the future. India’s defence industry has not been able to manage its defence requirements, due to which the Armed Forces’ essential services have not been fulfilled.
• Self-Reliance and Enduring Challenges: During the initial years of independence, India’s defence industrial policy was carried out by “self-sufficiency”. After that, it was changed to “self-reliance” and now has been a fundamental goal of native weapons production in India. Parliamentarians, policymakers, defence analysts, and oversight agencies have been concerned about India’s heavy dependence on arms imports. As India cannot produce its defence goods, it is drawing wider concern that the Indian defence industry has gone through. The government needs to focus on the domestic production of the defence hardware and technology so that they don’t need to import these weapons.

Decision-Making and National Security Strategy: While looking at the present status of India’s defence system, a long debate has been going on, on how to make defence modernisation. The decision making in India about national security and strategic matters has been a slow and complex process because of the classified structure of the decision-making process, which affects India’s defence preparedness. Due to the lack of military inputs in decision-making, India’s national security strategy suffers from failures such as the absence of long-term defence planning. There are various opinions on managing India’s defence system and national security decision-making process, which will help improve India’s defence system, civil-military relations, and self-reliance in defence production.

Conclusion

It is said that the Government of India is taking the correct steps toward becoming Atma Nirbhar, but then, too, there is a need to improve defence PSUs. Many efforts are being made to bring a new policy to get the private sector involved. However, a lot has to be done to make India’s defence modernisation completely. Also, there is an urgent need to concentrate on the navy to establish India’s maritime security. There is a need to induce modernised radars and switch drones, the Indian army to detect suspicious activities and invade border areas to ensure safety.