On all accounts organising the Defence Expo in Tamil Nadu is a landmark event. Over 500 Indian companies and more than 150 foreign companies attended. From earlier practices of exhibiting defence products from developed countries, Defexpo 18 show called India’s manufacturing capabilities.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman deserves commendation for her initiative in organising this expo. The state government provided 2.90 lakh square feet of land at Thiruvidanthai around 40 km from Chennai metro, along with other precious infrastructure.
The state has all the reason for welcoming this event. In recent years Tamil Nadu has not been attracting sizeable investments in new, large ventures. The policy changes brought about by the NDA government, especially in the defence sector, opens up new opportunities for growth.
Despite the sizeable allocations made for the defence sector in successive budgets, unfortunately, there had been near paralysis in terms of enactment and implementation of policies. 25 years of coalition governments from 1989 and entrusting the defence portfolio to a succession of colourless politicians contributed to such a paralysis. For long, the system suffered from widespread charges of corruption, lack of transparency and continued dependence on imports.
Despite the headstart in setting up a large number of manufacturing units under the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) right from the 1950s, with excessive secrecy, lack of accountability and a bureaucratic culture, the system lacked the expertise to select projects for research and the urge to deliver results quick. Look at the decades it has been taking to develop the main battle tank or the light combat aircraft!
Open – minded Jagjivan RAM…
At the Economic Editors’ Conference 1977, I pointed to the excessive secrecy clouding defence units that kept these inaccessible to media. In a rare response, Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram invited economic editors to look at six defence research and manufacturing units in Bengaluru. One could see the appalling disconnect and lack of direction. I remember the bitter comments of the then Director of the Gas Turbine Research Establishment: pointing to the shining gas turbine developed by the scientists and engineers over ten years that had cost over Rs 30 crore, he commented: “there is only one customer for this (HAL) and it would not touch this with a barge pole for trial, evaluation, and use.”
The Director of Electronics Research & Development Establishment (LRDE) pointed to a number of products displayed over a large hall, all developed by his unit. These included pacemakers, high altitude batteries among others. He complained that private industry was not interested in “productionising” these. Of course, he would not relate the cost of producing these. You won’t buy a pacemaker for Rs 50 lakh! There was the disconnect with economics!
The situation had not changed over the next three decades. We witnessed political heavyweights like Mulayam Singh Yadav or Sonia’s men like A K Antony put in charge of Defence. Especially under Antony who was more keen on maintaining his image as ‘Mr. Clean,’ there was little exertion to take vital decisions. As industrialist Chitra Narayanaswamy used to comment, “the only person who would not make mistakes are those who won’t take decisions.”
