"WILL CONTINUE THE POLICY FOR DEFENCE REFORMS TO BOOST MANUFACTURING"

Furthering the country's defence production target of three lakh crore by 2029 and leading such initiatives is Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence. In an exclusive interaction, Consulting and Contributing Editor Manish Kumar Jha speaks with the Secretary, on his roadmap and policies for spurring defence manufacturing in India, for both public and private sectors.

- Manish Kumar Jha

A TECHNOCRAT WITH ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION

Engineering from IIT, Kanpur, he is poised, and well-placed to understand the complexities of military technology and ever-changing dynamics of production in the wake of AI, ML and hybrid/autonomous modern assembly lines. Further, his leadership in designing and launching various national policies and initiatives including the PMAY is highly encouraging that he would be rallying for reforms and efficiency in India's quest for self-reliance not only in the higher scale of defence manufacturing but put his thrust on new emerging and critical technologies.

In this special conversation, Sanjeev Kumar outlines the policies for defence competitiveness globally for Indian industry private and public, thrust on advanced technology such as engine, propulsion systems and materials and what are the incentives or policy direction to excite R&D in defence industry?

Manish Kumar Jha (Manish Jha): India's defence production reached a record high of approximately 1.27 lakh crore. The country's defence production is aimed to reach a target of three lakh crore by 2029. Could you give the roadmap?

Sanjeev Kumar: The story of India's Defence production in right earnest, started in the year 2014-15 with government focus on 'Make in India' and Atmanirbhar Bharat. The domestic defence production has grown from *43,746 crores in 2013-14 to more than 1,27,000 crores in 2023-24.

Clarion call given by the Prime Minister for Atmanirbhar Bharat got reflected in the policies of Defence Procurement by reserving 75 per cent of Capital procurement through domestic route under DAP-2020. Support, guidance and acceptance by Indian Armed forces and the response of Indian industries to the products developed by DRDO have resulted in the fruitful realisation of the Atmanirbhar policy.