(The Statesman)

If there is a point of moaning between Pranab Mukherjee and George Fernandes, it is the private sector’s reluctance to get involved in producing military hardware. While the present defence minister is perhaps too new to his job, to speak of this reluctance with the same degree of dismay as his predecessor, no less serious is his concern that three years have elapsed since the doors to private production were thrown open, 26 per cent FDI to boot, without any joint ventures worth the name. Ten firms who responded are in the automotive sector, or were even earlier involved in producing certain items — there is no breakthrough worth the name. And the items for which letters of intent are issued are not genuinely hi-tech ones.

Not that India needs to worry about not getting equipment it seeks, it is spending Rs 40,000 crore annually on defence stores making it one of the world’s biggest buyers, so sellers are queueing up. The problem arises from the fact that there are always strings attached to the sale of military equipment, in addition to potential diplomatic/political complications, which impact on assured supplies of spares and product-support. As was manifest when most of the Navy’s helicopters were grounded by the sanctions imposed after Pokharan-II. A high degree of self-reliance was a necessity — not just a noble objective. The ostensible reason for an indifferent response from the private sector is that procedures prescribed are cumbersome. That can be remedied. What is more difficult to deal with is the private sector’s fear that it may not be cost-effective to set up advanced production facilities when orders are limited. Against that background it is worth exploring the possibility of defence public sector enterprises and ordnance factories entering into joint-ventures with private firms and their foreign partners. This may harmonise private management skills, established infrastructure with an injection of got-abroad technology and expertise.