Skirting the Rules Leaves India’s Defense Industry Short-Changed
- $15 billion worth of investment over 15 years at stake
- Program forms part of Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign
TOPSHOT - An Indian soldier salutes as he rides a Smerch rocket launcher during India's Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2016. Thousands gathered in New Delhi amid tight security January 26 for India's annual Republic Day parade, a pomp-filled spectacle of military might featuring camels and daredevil stuntwomen, with French President Francois Hollande the chief guest. / AFP / ROBERTO SCHMIDT (Photo credit should read ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
Photographer: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty ImagesTwo years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, his plan to transform India from the world’s top weapons buyer into an arms exporter remains unfulfilled.
A key plank of Modi’s plan has been requiring foreign manufacturers to route some defense orders through Indian companies to boost local industry. But with an estimated $15 billion in outstanding investment in military technology at stake, the program -- started under a prior government -- is faltering.