Bharat’s Leap: From Import Dependence to Atmanirbharta in Defence Equipment Manufacturing

The anarchical nature of the international system and the frequent disruptions in the global supply chain, has pushed Bharat, or India, into charting a new course in the defence sector. This is spearheaded by its ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-Reliant India) initiative of 2020, wherein, focus is on giving impetus to the growth story of over 140 crore Indians. Currently thus, exponential changes have been witnessed particularly in the defence sector. India has started making sophisticated weapons indigenously, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has overcome its strategic hesitancy and technological backwardness in the defence manufacturing sector. India’s defence exports have shot up by 2300 per cent in the year 2022–23, as it now exports a wide array of weaponry to over 85 countries in the world. Considering such remarkable improvement and self-reliance of its defence infrastructure, India is today turning into a net security provider at the international platform. This article seeks to comprehensively analyse India’s path of progress from being the largest importer of arms towards being self-reliant and an active security provider in the world.

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