Defence indigenisation gets major push as IAF draws 10-year roadmap

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force on Tuesday came out with its indigenisation road map till 2025, highlighting the future technologies and new weapon system capabilities that it plans to induct. Brought out in the form of a booklet, the road map aims to help the Indian domestic defence industry to frame its plans and policies. IAF is in the process of modernising and expanding its inventory to keep up with the changing geo-political scenario and emerging threat perception, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said. He underlined that there exists a huge potential for indigenisation in the manufacturing of capital equipment and their maintenance spares. [caption id=“attachment_2737922” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Economical and optimal exploitation of such a potential by the Indian industry would lead to greater self reliance, he said. Besides hi-tech equipment like propulsion technology, engine systems and missile and bombs, the IAF has also pointed out that indigenisation is much-needed in smaller parts like tyre of the aircraft, batteries, bulbs, filters, fuel oil and lubricants. It also listed 173 requirements for maintenance of aircraft fleet and systems. However, the problem was that the annual requirement of most of the products listed was less than 30 units each. Before the release of the booklet, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said that it will provide useful inputs to the industry to map their potential with the requirements of the Indian Air Force. In his address, Singh also emphasised that the bureaucracy needs to think keeping in mind the force and others. Asked if he meant the bureaucracy was living in a cocoon, he said that he meant the overall environment. “In defence, as well as in others areas, we have had bureaucrats being sent to jail for taking an independent decision, not necessarily on receipt of some money or the other,” he said. Singh added that they “have been sent to jail because things have been brought out in the media”. “Media pressure has become so much in certain issues, for whatever way it is motivated by the media, people have had to pay the price without actually having taken any money. So those are things that have restricted the flow of the pen of the bureaucracy, so therefore they have cocooned themselves, protected themselves. It is not in the best interest of the country,” he said.