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Private Corporations in Defence Production
With the National Democratic Alliance government pushing the entry of private corporations into the military sector, there are anumber of ongoing tie-ups between Indian corporate oligarchs and foreign original equipment manufacturers. The former are saddled with huge debts and have a sullied record, while the latter are reluctant to part with their proprietary technologies. Concurrently, the public defence sector is being hollowed out and is shedding jobs. How do these developments advance India’s strategic interests?
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s “Make in India” policy appears to be unravelling even before it takes off, hurting India’s military preparedness where it matters most. On 3 August 2017, the US–India Business Council (USIBC), which represents 400 firms in the United States (US), wrote to the Ministry of Defence seeking guarantees that US firms would be allowed to retain control over sensitive technology even as junior joint venture partners. The USIBC letter said that
[t]o allow foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers to provide the most advanced technologies the partnership arrangements between an India-owned “strategic partner” company and a foreign OEM needs to provide an opportunity for the foreign OEM to retain control over its proprietary technology.
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