tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726844009873922462.post5520937592894390260..comments2024-03-29T05:44:18.835-07:00Comments on Broadsword by Ajai Shukla - Strategy. Economics. Defence.: India to spell out list of defence productsBroadswordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13076780076240598482noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726844009873922462.post-822707999797936052008-01-11T21:52:00.000-08:002008-01-11T21:52:00.000-08:00Mr. Shukla, the following is a comment by Mr. Tata...Mr. Shukla, the following is a comment by Mr. Tata at the launch of the Nano. It appeared in the Economic Times, and was posted on bharat-rakshak forum :-<BR/><BR/><I><B>As Mr Tata says, we have had a history in India of being licensed manufacturers. “Knowhow came from somewhere. We produced the product, badged it ourselves or put the foreign badges, put it in the market and, in some cases, Indian companies were free to enhance that product. Some didn’t have the right to touch that product from what it was.”</B><BR/><BR/>Manufacturing firms learnt from systems that foreign partners brought or the techniques that already existed. The normal tendency for any Indian manufacturer was to look for a foreign JV partner or simply rely on reverse engineering.<BR/><BR/><B>“We never really, except in the pharma area, tried to venture out on our own.” No one was willing to throw down the gauntlet and challenge the existing norms. “And it ought to be the kind of challenge which somebody says can’t be done because then it really becomes the engine of innovation.” Add to that dream a few wheels, and you can then drive off in a Nano.</B></I><BR/><BR/>The above which true for the civilian automotive industry is also true for the military aviation and tank industry, as after all, these are all machines meant for varying uses only.<BR/><BR/>As we discussed earlier in the case of HAL, Alpha and HBL which have prospective JVs with foreign companies, it shall ensue the operation of foreign manufacturing equipment only and non-critical local input other than labour and raw materials. <BR/>It is hoped by sections in the media (and by your articles), that these local companies "pick up the reins" by reverse engineering/copying the imported products being manufactured at their locations and building upon it to release their own products. They can even "build upon" that knowledge to further advance upon it in the long-term.<BR/><BR/>In the short-term however, this offsets policy is nothing but a means to garner the facility of "playing middleman" for these local firms, and hence accumulate illicit commissions. <BR/>All this is totally ignored amidst such "lofty" ideas and headlines like, 'private partnerships', "Indian private defence players now come of age" etc.<BR/><BR/>The fact is that DRDO lags behind sensor technologies only, which is why it has proposed JVs with western firms for all forthcoming missile projects henceforth. In all other areas like propulsion, most radar types, guidance, telemetry etc, it is at par with the west.<BR/><BR/><B>The "real tussle" is between the DRDO and the western private firms to sell techniques to nascent private firms, most of which were essentially distributors and are now testers and assemblers also. It is extremely unfortunate, that the government is inviting foreign firms to exclusively distribute their products via these small firms, whereas Dr. Natarajan still complains of poor R&D funding at the Indian Science Congress, on 5 Jan 2008.</B><BR/><BR/>This offsets policy is another way of keeping the services "hooked" to imported weaponry only.<BR/><BR/>Thank you.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Reference :-<BR/><BR/>DRDO in dire need of research funds<BR/>http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan52008/national2008010545000.aspAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com