TY - JOUR

T1 - Major Factors that Impede Reforms in India’s Military- Industrial Complex in 2014–2023

AU - Лихачев, Кирилл Александрович

AU - Махлаюк, Артур Николаевич

PY - 2024/9

Y1 - 2024/9

N2 - This article intends to assess the negative impact of a number of factors on the reforming process of the Indian military-industrial complex (MIC) under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government during 2014–2023. The authors distinguish three groups of factors that mostly affect the whole structure of India’s defence industry at present. Conceptual and institutional factors include the contradictions of the basic laws and regulations of the Indian MIC, absence of the common strategy of the Indian armed forces development, politicising of the protectionist measures, offset policy implementation, bureaucracy’s impact and inter-agency contradictions. Economic factors include the problems with FDI attraction, governmental efforts to change the structure of defence expenditures by reducing the pensions to military personnel and attracting the private sector. The group of technological factors focuses on the problems with the quality and delivery delays of the defence production in India. An applied policy analysis, a retrospective analysis of data and content of the main documents allow the authors to conclude that the considered set of factors bears systemic nature and exerts a substantial negative impact on the Indian defence industry. These factors hinder the implementation of ambitious goals of the BJP government, aimed at achieving the “strategic autonomy” in the crucial fields for its national security. Moreover, the current problems of the Indian MIC are exacerbated by the impact of the domestic political situation. Consequently, resolving these problems in the short and medium term seems unlikely. However, in the long-term the reforms being carried out by the Indian government would largely offset the negative effect of the considered factors.

AB - This article intends to assess the negative impact of a number of factors on the reforming process of the Indian military-industrial complex (MIC) under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government during 2014–2023. The authors distinguish three groups of factors that mostly affect the whole structure of India’s defence industry at present. Conceptual and institutional factors include the contradictions of the basic laws and regulations of the Indian MIC, absence of the common strategy of the Indian armed forces development, politicising of the protectionist measures, offset policy implementation, bureaucracy’s impact and inter-agency contradictions. Economic factors include the problems with FDI attraction, governmental efforts to change the structure of defence expenditures by reducing the pensions to military personnel and attracting the private sector. The group of technological factors focuses on the problems with the quality and delivery delays of the defence production in India. An applied policy analysis, a retrospective analysis of data and content of the main documents allow the authors to conclude that the considered set of factors bears systemic nature and exerts a substantial negative impact on the Indian defence industry. These factors hinder the implementation of ambitious goals of the BJP government, aimed at achieving the “strategic autonomy” in the crucial fields for its national security. Moreover, the current problems of the Indian MIC are exacerbated by the impact of the domestic political situation. Consequently, resolving these problems in the short and medium term seems unlikely. However, in the long-term the reforms being carried out by the Indian government would largely offset the negative effect of the considered factors.

KW - India

KW - defence expenditure

KW - defence planning

KW - military-industrial complex

KW - reforms

KW - Индия

KW - военно-промышленный комплекс

KW - оборонное планирование

KW - оборонный бюджет

KW - реформы

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/a045adc2-a19e-3026-a6a8-45588ed8da90/

U2 - 10.21638/spbu13.2024.115

DO - 10.21638/spbu13.2024.115

M3 - Article

VL - 16

SP - 247

EP - 263

JO - ВЕСТНИК САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА. ВОСТОКОВЕДЕНИЕ И АФРИКАНИСТИКА

JF - ВЕСТНИК САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА. ВОСТОКОВЕДЕНИЕ И АФРИКАНИСТИКА

SN - 2074-1227

IS - 1

ER -