There’s a Make in India twist in New Delhi-Paris ties

French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi share a strong personal chemistry.

- Mohan Kumar

As India’s ambassador to France, I was witness to the very first meeting between the newly elected Macron and a Modi who was a political newbie in June 2017. Since then, the two leaders have met 20 times in both bilateral and multilateral formats. But of all the summit-level meetings between the two leaders, this one feels different. Is it because President Macron is on his last lap and wishes to leave a legacy behind? Is it because France and India are two proud middle powers reacting to geopolitical turbulence? Whatever the reasons, the two leaders decided to elevate the Franco-Indian strategic partnership to a “special” and “global” one.

Defence has always been the bulwark of the Franco-Indian relationship. But a systemic shift is on, which entails moving from a buyer-seller relationship to a partnership based on co-design, co-development and co-production of defence platforms and equipment. While the procurement of Rafales will need further commercial negotiations, the bulk of it will be manufactured in India with significant local content requirements. The deals between SAFRAN, DRDO, and Bharat Electronics are also in the vein of Make in India projects. The inauguration of the final assembly line in Karnataka of the Tata-Airbus H125 helicopter is paradigmatic of the shift in Indo-French ties when it comes to defence.