BUILDING INDIA'S FUTURE IN DEFENCE

From submarine periscopes to India's first MRI magnet, Munjal Shah of Paras Defence is steering the company into niche, high-value technologies that strengthen national capabilities and global credibility.

- By Amit Shanbaug

For Munjal Shah, Managing Director of Paras Defence and Space Technologies, the story of his company has always been one of deliberately walking the harder path. From its earliest days, Paras chose to operate in highly specialised, high-stakes domains primarily defence and space where the customer base is narrow, requirements are unforgiving, and there is no margin for error.

"We have always believed in building cutting-edge technologies that India has limited access to," Shah says. "In such a focused industry, sustainability doesn't come from scale but from depth. You need a broad range of offerings and the capability to develop highly customised solutions."

That mindset has taken Paras from being a Tier-3 vendor to becoming a Tier-1 partner in multiple areas. The journey has been fuelled by consistent investment in R&D, design-led innovation, and engineering precision, expanding the company's capabilities from mechanical systems to electronics, electro-optics, and integrated defence platforms. Today, Paras is also working in futuristic areas like quantum communication technologies that Shah believes will shape the company's future.

THE CASE FOR SELF-RELIANCE

Global flashpoints from the Red Sea to Eastern Europe have reinforced one of Shah's core convictions: relying on technology supply chains from unstable regions is a risk India cannot afford. He points to India's evolving policy framework from the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) to indigenisation lists and long-term Development-cum-Production Partnership (DCPP) tenders — as a strong base to build on.