For more than 50 years, Indian security agencies have been preparing for a war on two fronts—against Pakistan and China. Recently, with India’s military getting stronger, a new challenge has come up—delays in getting military equipment quickly. These delays are well known. It often takes 5 to 6 years to get a weapon system, which is three times longer than the official two-year limit.
This is just the time it takes to decide and test the equipment, not the actual time to make and deliver it, which can take even more years depending on how complex the equipment is and how much the manufacturer can produce.India has one of the largest defence budgets in the world. This year, it is spending about $78.7 billion (around 6.8 lakh crore rupees) on defence. Making weapons in India has been a key goal, as part of the ‘Make in India’ plan. Prime Minister Modi has spoken about the need for strong home-grown defence systems.
After recent clashes with Pakistan, the Defence Ministry has approved over 2 lakh crore rupees worth of military gear, including drones, missiles, night vision systems, BrahMos weapons, and radar systems.On August 19, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved a deal worth 62,000 crore rupees for 97 LCA Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets and another 19,000 crore rupees for a new airborne early warning system. If everything goes as planned, these major purchases should be delivered within five years. But this is rare, because of the slow decision-making process.
Even before the recent actions, the Defence Ministry was frustrated with the delays.Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said earlier this year that the procurement system has been broken for a long time. He admitted that the timelines set are too long.To fix this, the Defence Ministry has given the armed forces power to quickly buy equipment worth up to 300 crore rupees. In July, they signed 13 contracts worth over 1,982 crore rupees for items like radars, drones, night vision gear, and other supplies. However, these emergency purchases are a sign that the system is still not working properly. Even though the equipment is supposed to be delivered within a year, this doesn’t always happen because manufacturers take too long to deliver.
Made-in-India contracts, on the other hand, often take years to start because there is not enough clarity on orders.Take the example of the Tejas Mark 1A. The Indian Air Force ordered the first batch of 83 planes in 2021, and then increased the order to 180. Buying all 180 at once would have helped bring down the cost and allow the manufacturers to build more quickly and efficiently.In 2025, the Defence Ministry’s biggest test is ahead. The year has been called “the year of reform.” After Operation Sindoor, the defence secretary promised to complete procurements in two years.
The clock is now ticking on all the approved projects. The Ministry plans to review its procurement policies and make the process faster. A committee led by the defence secretary aims to ensure that basic steps like preparing proposals are done in time. It will support ‘Make in India’ by working with private companies through joint ventures and technology transfers. The review will also include changes to streamline procedures, make it easier to do business, conduct trials, manage contracts, and speed up the use of new technologies like AI. Clearly, a major change is needed.
