General Dalbir Singh, the Chief of one the world's largest standing armies, which also commands one of the biggest budgets, believes that the Indian private sector has a strong role to play in modernisation efforts and reducing import dependence. In an interview to ET, the general spoke about ongoing procurement projects, future plans and the optimal mix of boots on ground and technology for meeting security challenges. Edited excerpts:
The government has undertaken several initiatives to encourage the indigenous defence industry to meet the equipment requirements of the army, including increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) to 49%.
Product development (for the military) is a technically challenging and professional task. It demands a deep understanding of all processes involved and requires substantial investment of time, money and resources. Industry, including the private sector and academia, can play a vital role in meeting the needs of the army. I am confident that Indian industry, including the private sector, has the capacity as well as the will to respond efficiently to the challenge, which is also an opportunity for them—the Make in India initiative.
The move to increase FDI to 49% will also accrue several benefits, including a boost in defence research and development, a reduced dependence on imports for military hardware and enhancement of the technical skill sets of army operators and technicians.
How important is the Make in India initiative for the army, given your need for modernization?
The initiative is beneficial in most of the areas of modernisation the Indian Army is looking at. Already, a large number of foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) ranging from specialist guns, night sights, helicopters and missiles have offered to form joint ventures with Indian companies to manufacture defence equipment in the country. This will help bring in cutting-edge technology through transfer of technology. In fact, Army HQ has put in place an institutionalized mechanism for regular engagement with Indian industry to share our current and long-term needs of military technology, platforms and systems. The response from indigenous industry has been very encouraging.
Can you share details of two of the largest contracts under process by the army - for future infantry combat vehicles and a futuristic battle tank - that are to involve Indian industry.
On the Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV), the project is being progressed under the Make (in India) category, an acceptance of necessity for which was obtained in October 2009. After a retraction of EoI (expression of interest) in December 2012, five additional vendors requested for their inclusion in the list. The fresh EoI has been issued to all 10 empanelled vendors on 16 July, 2015. Further action would be initiated after studying their responses.
In 2008-09, a need was felt to develop a new tank for the Indian Army, which would be inducted by 2027 and would form the mainstay of the Armoured Corps. The Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT) was initially proposed to be developed under the Make (in India) procedure, similar to the FICV. However, drawing lessons from the progress in the FICV case, an alternative option to develop the FMBT was examined. It was renamed as FRCV (Future Ready Combat Vehicle), as it is to be developed on a platform concept and be the base for a family of variants. Responses from 27 agencies have been received and are under evaluation. Our objective is to induct these during the next plan period (2017-2022).