The “Make in India” effort – can Israeli companies take part?

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By ARIE EGOZI

India is continuing its effort to get to a point where it supplies all its own defense needs.

This effort is based on a “make in India” policy that forces foreign companies to transfer many technologies and production to India.

Israeli companies have established good relations with India and some weapon systems like the Barak-8 missile against aerial targets are being developed  with Indian funding .

Israeli sources told I-HLS that what was sufficient in the past will not be good enough to comply with the new Indian policy. “There is a need for a new approach in order to stay in the game,” one source said.

In the meantime, Indian companies are expanding their facilities.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)’s new Defense Systems Integration Complex will focus on research and development in radars, missiles and electronic warfare systems.

The new facility’s foundation stone was laid by Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar on September 30, 2015 and will be the largest facility once it is commissioned. The facility will be built in stages as the various projects mature and the estimated investment will be about Rs.500 crores ($76 million) over 3 to 4 years.

S K Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, BEL, said: “We are strengthening our infrastructure in areas like Night Vision technologies and elements of Multifunction Radars. Various new Surface to Air Missile (SAM) programs are proposed to be taken up by BEL, viz, Quick Reaction SAM , Long Range SAM, Medium Range SAM, etc, in addition to Network Centric Communication and Electronic Warfare systems.’’

“To achieve self-reliance in defense, there is need for a very strong indigenous R&D. In this direction, BEL has not only maintained a consistent policy of R&D investments but also has launched collaborative R&D with private SME firms in the country. On an average, 80 per cent of BEL’s Sales turnover is from indigenous R&D every year. BEL has now launched a Product Development & Innovation Centre at Bangalore to give further thrust towards indigenous R&D,” he said.

As part of diversification and business growth, BEL is looking towards major expansion into New Generation SAM systems, High end Image Intensifier Tubes and Thermal Imaging detectors for Night Vision Devices, Inertial Navigation Systems, Electronic Ammunition Fuses, Air Traffic Management Radars, Intelligent Traffic Management Systems and Solar Power Plants.