India’s defence manufacturing: When India became free, the country had to protect its borders and also build its own industries, leaders back thenknew that real independence would come only if India could make its own defence equipment and become self reliant. The government started Defence Public Sector Units to make important military machines inside the country. India has now started building foreign designs to making its own. instead of buying from foreign countries.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been a leading example of thisIn the early years, HAL made planes like the MiG-21 and Jaguars under license in the 1960s and 1970s. Later, it designed and built aircraft on its own, like the Hindustan Fighter-24 Marut, the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter, Rudra (ALH Mk IV), the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, the Prachand Light Combat Helicopter, Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 and the Light Utility Helicopter. HAL didn’t just build these machines it also helped create a strong aerospace industry by working with small companies, private firms, universities, and start-ups.
India’s defence Manufacturing
The “Make in India” plan, started in 2014 by the Prime Minister, gave defence manufacturing a big boost. Policies started to focus more on buying from Indian companies, pushing for new ideas, and increasing the amount of local parts in military products. The Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 gave preference to buying from within India, which changed the import-export ratio from 70:30 in favour of imports to the other way round.
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In March 2022, the government listed 18 major defence platforms for the industry to design and develop in India. There were also ‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ for the military and Defence Public Sector Units which put a stop to importing certain products after a set date, reported ET.
HAL: A Growing Industry
HAL now works with more than 2,000 private partners. These include big companies, medium and small businesses. Over half of HAL’s spending on parts now goes to Indian companies. This change is helping build more capacity, reduce dependency, and bring new ideas into the supply chain. HAL wants to act as the main aerospace integrator, working closely with private firms.
For example, in the Light Combat Aircraft Mk1A project, HAL joined with private companies to make big sections like the front fuselage, centre fuselage, wings, and tail. This way, work gets done faster and private companies learn advanced manufacturing skills.
Many of these firms have moved up from small suppliers to major ones, and some even sell to foreign manufacturers now. HAL has also put over 31,000 imported parts on the SRIJAN portal so that Indian companies can make them locally, which has reduced the need to depend on foreign suppliers.
HAL sees small and medium businesses as the heart of future innovation and job creation. It runs vendor development programs to find, train, and support smaller firms. It gives them development orders, works with them on projects, and guides them technically. Under the iDEX program, HAL works with start-ups on new tech like AI for machine checks, drones for inspections, and advanced materials. This is creating a new kind of teamwork where old, experienced companies and new, young start-ups join forces to solve tough problems.
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Skills and Infrastructure
Building a defence industry is not only about machines and policies, it’s also about good infrastructure and skilled workers. HAL has invested in all of these. It has advanced manufacturing and R&D centres, and also runs the HAL Management Academy to train people.
HAL works with big universities like IITs and IIMs to do joint projects, offer internships, and let students work on real designs. It also supports the Aerospace and Aviation Sector Skill Council, which trains workers for areas like aircraft design, manufacturing, maintenance, airline work, and airports. HAL has also helped set up the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme in the Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridors so that companies can share expensive testing facilities instead of building their own.
