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India’s
Defence Industry – The Gold Rush
The manic hurry of private companies,
Indian and foreign, to enter defence industry in India reminds one of the Californian
Gold Rush, as prospectors rushed to far away land in America in the 19th
Century in a free for all to make quick, “bucks”. Today many Indian and foreign
companies large and small varying from energy refiners to tea producers and
pizza chain owners are jumping in the defence industry fray.
The lure is the purported $ 200 billion pie
in waiting in defence manufacturing over the next decade or so and in the long
term possibility of being a player in the global military production
sweepstakes exploiting Indian entrepreneurship and low manufacturing costs to
advantage. Who are these players, how deep are their pockets and staying power,
what is their perception of defence industry dynamics and what is their ability
to deliver will determine not just the fortunes of these companies but also modernization
and indigenization of the Indian armed forces? A brief overview is offered herein.
Defence industry is not a new sphere
to India’s private sector. Major manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Mahindra
and Mahindra, Godrej and Boyce and L&T have been in the field for long and
have contributed substantially to various defence projects to include the nuclear
submarine, BrahMos cruise missile and Pinaka artillery rocket launchers amongst
others.
Many of these are diversified players
whose product profile is large. However they have been so far restricted to
play the second fiddle in the Indian defence industry dominated by the Ordnance
Factory Board (OFB) and the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU). Making a
breakthrough has been elusive for these established players despite the
financial muscle and clout in the corridors of power in New Delhi.
However new initiatives by the government
to create an indigenous defence industrial base and India’s rising defence
budget seem to have opened vistas for others to join in.
The latest entrants include Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) ranked 99
in the Global Fortune Companies list and slated to reach market capitalization of
USD 100 billion by 2017 as per a Goldman Sachs report quoted by the Economic
Times of 17 August 2012. The mother company has floated, Reliance Aerospace
Technologies Pvt Ltd, aimed, "to design, develop, manufacture, equipment
and components, including airframe, engines, radars, avionics and accessories
for military and civilian aircraft, helicopters, unmanned airborne vehicles and
aerostats," as per application filed with Department of Industrial
Planning and Policy (DIPP) for industrial licence.
Reliance management is
known to think big and long term and has deep pockets purportedly willing to
invest USD 1 billion though the Indian markets have recently shown reduced
confidence in the Company. Reliance’s hiring of Vivek Lall a veteran in global aerospace
industry a few years back had raised speculations of entry of the company in
this sector. Reliance may emerge as a front line prospect for large offsets
worth over USD 5-6 billion once the contract between Dassault Aviation of
France and Indian Ministry of Defence nominated agency for the 126 Medium Multi
Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) is finalized. Will the Mukesh Ambani led RIL be
able to replicate success in other areas in defence remains to be seen?
Recently Rossell India Ltd as per a
PTI report of 10 August 2012 has signed in with CAE Canada. Previously Rossell
Tea Ltd, the company web site indicates that on the 19th of April 2011 to
represent diverse interests it was rechristened as Rossell India Limited with
three divisions – Tea, Aviation & Defence (Technology and Engineering) and
Product Support Services (Aerospace).
PTI indicated that the company has recently
tied up with CAE Canada for simulator training solutions with a 76:24 joint
venture. CAE is a reputed global simulation
and aviation training services provider. Rossell India also lists, “collaborative
strategic investments in the fast food business in Nigeria, Africa. With
franchise rights from YUMS, the brand owners of KFC, Pizza hut and Taco Bell,”
on its website. CAE has possibly preferred to enter India through the joint
venture with a nontraditional defence industry player as Rossell.
As per a report in the Hindu of 17
August 2012, Piramal Enterprises has acquired a 27.83 per cent stake in
Bluebird Aero Systems. Piramal Enterprises is a pharma and healthcare major attempting
inroads into defence industry. Bluebird Aero Systems is an Israel based Unmanned
Aerial Systems (UAS) manufacturer. The reports that Hindu Blue Bird Aero
Systems has an agreement with Bangalore’s Dynamatic Technologies for
manufacture of UAVs. As per the latter’s web site the aerospace division is
headed by Air Cmde. (Retd.) Ravish Malhotra, India's cosmonaut.
Recently the Ministry of Defenc has outlined
the process for Joint Ventures. The Mazgaon Docks (MDL) has entered into
separate joint ventures with Larsen & Toubro and Pipavav Defence and
Offshore Engineering for constructing submarines and warships, respectively.
MDL has an order book of over Rs 1 Lakh Crore which includes submarines,
destroyers and frigates and is likely to, "explore the feasibility of
diversifying its product profile by entering into partnerships with other
eligible leading shipbuilders as well." "The JVs (with L&T and
Pipava) will leverage the strengths of the respective JV partners in the public
and private sectors to work out a collaborative strategy for taking the nation
towards self-sufficiency in warship construction," said a report quoted by
the Economic Times.
The entry of new private sector
players both Indian and foreign in India’s defence sector is more than welcome.
There is enough space for players who can deliver quality products to our armed
forces in time and at competitive costs.
However defence manufacturing calls for precision
and quality, there is no room for fly by night operators that replicated the gold
rush as this will impact performance of the military in war as well as peace.
As far as the private sector is able to provide high degree of assurance it
will prove to be a boon for the Indian defence industry. For this it would have
to focus on leveraging advantages that it has to include flexibility and
suppleness with greater transparency to deliver.
Due diligence and security
audit is also necessary, some recommendations have been made by the ASSOCHAM in
this field recently. Hopefully various monitoring agencies including the DIPP
and Ministry of Defence Production will look into these issues to ensure that
the new entrants follow laid down norms and do not compromise security.
Recent exposure of the Tatra case
wherein DPSU BEML Ltd ignored the fact that Tatra Sipox was not an Original
Equipment Manufacturer does not raise confidence in this sphere. The Armed
Forces should also step in where required bringing to light these issues rather
than continuing to sign on the dotted line.
To sum up the entry of new private
players with due diligence on their credibility and long term interest in the defence
sector is welcome, however adequate checks have to be put in place to ensure
that they are not entering the fray only to monetarily partake off the defence
pie. Indian armed forces struggling to modernize can ill afford an exposure to
those who are in for the Gold Rush without being serious entrants to what is a strategic
sector which has to be secured from vested interests with short term outlook.
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