A country's science and technology (S and T) capacity - the country's science policy and research and development (R and D) priorities, its educational structures, the national stock of S and T personnel - determines its capabilities for the absorption and development of advanced military technologies. Assessing the strength and limitations of India's S and T capacities, the paper finds that the fundamental weaknesses of the Indian technology base are organisational and cultural, including inertia in policy making and strong preferences for tradition and continuity. The education policy has failed to give required impetus to engineering and technology, and consequently, Indian research capacity is primarily directed towards basic science research that has less relevance to advanced industrial applications. Though these shortcomings are a staple of government reports, scientific conferences and newspaper commentary, the government has not taken any initiatives to redress them. If anything, the paper argues, liberalisation will make the problem worse as the leadership is either unaware of the extent of the problem or overly sanguine about the prospects of its solution.
