The government has prohibited Indian manufacturers of military drones from using components made in China. The decision came after serious concerns over security vulnerabilities, according to a Reuters report.
The report quoted four defence and industry officials. They said that the country’s security leaders were worried that intelligence-gathering could be compromised by China-made parts in drones’ communication functions, the unmanned aerial vehicle’s cameras, radio transmission and operating software.
The decision to restrict China-made parts comes amid military tensions between India and China, the two nuclear-armed neighbours, especially after skirmishes between the Indian Army and Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.
Three of these people and some of the six other government and industry figures interviewed by Reuters spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media or because of the topic’s sensitivity.
WHY THE BAN?
The Reuters report further suggests that two meetings in February and March were convened to discuss drone tenders in the country. There, Indian military officials told potential bidders that equipment or subcomponents from “countries sharing land borders with India will not be acceptable for security reasons”, according to minutes reviewed by Reuters.
This essentially means China-made equipment and subcomponents.
In 2019, the Pentagon also banned the buying and using of drones and components made in China.
An Indian defence official told Reuters that the country would need to gear up to accept higher costs to boost domestic manufacturing.
“If today I buy equipment from China but I say I want to make it in India, the cost will go up 50%,” he said. “We as a nation need to be ready to help the ecosystem build here,” they said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in February 2023, pledged that one-quarter of this fiscal year’s Budget for defence research and development would be for private industry.