India releases a brand-new “Positive Indigenization List” in an effort to increase domestic defense manufacturing

India released a new list of 98 pieces of military technology on Wednesday, including sophisticated systems, sensors, missiles, and ammunition, that would only be purchased from local manufacturers after an import ban is implemented over a period of time.

The fifth positive indigenization list was revealed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the seminar “Swavlamban 2.0” hosted by the Indian Navy.

The futuristic infantry combat vehicle, remotely piloted airborne vehicles (up to 25 km range with a payload of 2 kg for Army), shipborne unmanned aerial system, tactical drone with medium upgrade and low endurance, next generation low-level light radar for Army, and electro optic fire control system for naval platforms are the main items on the list.

Armor plates for the Mi-17 helicopter’s cabin nose portion, multipurpose aviation ground equipment for the Air Force, gravity rollers for the Mi-17 V5 helicopter, and flares for P-8I and MiG 29-K aircraft were also included on the list.

The latest “positive indigenisation list” builds on the previous four lists, which together featured 411 military goods.

Separately, the Department of Defence Production announced four positive indigenization lists totaling 4,666 items for Defense Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), according to the defence ministry. These items included line replacement units, sub-systems, spares, and components.

At the presentation, 75 innovations were on show that have applications in diverse military gear, such as underwater swarm drones, autonomous weaponized boat swarms, and fire fighting systems.

In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence last year, the Indian Navy made a commitment to create these 75 technologies.

The 10th Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC 10) and DISC 10 PRIME of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) were two challenges Singh announced for the sector during the session.

The new “Indigenisation Roadmap — Swavlamban 2.0” for the Indian Navy was also made public by the defense minister.

Singh also announced the introduction of two ‘INDUS-X challenges’ under the ‘INDUS-X Mutual Promotion of Advanced Collaborative Technologies’ (IMPACT) challenges, which were collaboratively developed by iDEX and the US Department of Defense (DoD).

In order to increase the strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the start-up ecosystems, businesses, and academic institutions of the two countries, the iDEX recently organized the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X) event in Washington.

The DoD and iDEX have completed two collaborative “INDUS X” tasks in under three months.

The publication of the Department of Military Affairs’ (DMA) fifth positive indigenization list was the seminar’s primary high point.

“The list includes very complicated systems, sensors, weapons, and ammo. According to guidelines outlined in the Defense Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 in a staggered timeframe, all of these components would be purchased from domestic suppliers, the defence ministry said in a statement.

In his speech, Singh said that India has always been self-sufficient in the fields of knowledge and innovation, and that the election of the Modi administration in 2014 revived the sense of “Aatmanirbhar” (self-reliance) across all industries.

 

“French assaults had made us forget our creative strategy. ‘Local’ started to be associated with inferior products. Now, we’re emancipating ourselves from that mindset,” he said.

“Our prime minister restored respect for locally produced items by launching the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign. Our young people are increasingly acknowledging their inherent power and removing internal misgivings, he stated.

With their creative thinking and expertise, he predicted that they will have a significant impact on the nation’s progress in the future.

The defence minister also asked for a thorough evaluation of the technological hurdles, including whether they are current-generation or whether better technology is anticipated in the near future.

He emphasized the need of determining if a technology is already in use or whether “we’re just re-inventing the wheel.”

He also made the argument that it is critical to consider the economics when determining a technology’s feasibility.

Your R&D expenditures will be more cost-effective as a result, he said.

Singh advocated for creating a reliable process to do analysis prior to the introduction of any technology or problem.

For this, he said, the Department of Defense Production, the Defense Research and Development Organization, and the armed forces might band together to create an impartial panel of experts that could enhance the process for analysis.

Additionally, Singh introduced the unique dual-chip SBI NAVeCash Card.

It was created by the Indian Navy and the State Bank of India (SBI).

When Navy personnel are at sea and have no direct link to the bank, the card may be used both online (as a conventional debit card) and offline.

According to the defence ministry, the card has been created, tested, and ready for rollout throughout the whole Navy.

“The card is a positive step towards the prime minister’s dream of a digital India with cashless financial transactions as it obviates the usage of cash onboard ships even in high seas,” it said.