India to halt 101 military imports in push for defence self-reliance: minister

MUMBAI: India will stop importing 101 items of military equipment in an effort to boost domestic defence production, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday. Singh said the move follows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for defence self-reliance. India is one of the world's top arms importers.

India has accelerated military purchases in the wake of a June border clash between Indian and Chinese troops, with the government approving the purchase of 33 Russian fighter jets and upgrades to 59 other planes in July. Tensions between India and China are at their highest in years following the clash in a disputed stretch of border in the western Himalayas in which India lost 20 soldiers.

Military experts say India is short of combat planes, helicopters and field guns because of years of low funding. "The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024," Singh wrote in a series of tweets. "Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation."

India traditionally buys military equipment from Russia, but is increasingly purchasing from the United States and Israel. Modi has repeatedly called for cutting the military's dependence of expensive imports.

Between April 2015 and August 2020, the Indian defence services had contracted around 3.5 trillion rupees worth of items that are now on the hold list. The government estimates around 4 trillion rupees worth of orders will now be placed with the domestic industry over the next five to seven years.

The list of embargoed items includes high technology weapon systems, artillery guns, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, light combat helicopters (LCHs), Singh said.