India must focus on putting money into critical capabilities that form the core of defence systems, Adani Defence and Aerospace CEO Ashish Rajvanshi told NDTV in an exclusive interview on Monday.
Appreciating Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for announcing a "progressive union budget", Mr Rajvanshi said the defence component in the union budget is "very good" for a business-as-usual environment.
"... When we are talking about unprecedented times, it requires unprecedented actions. And what I mean by that is geopolitical events have triggered a race for creating inventory and working towards self-reliance in every country, not only in India. What does that mean for India? That the friends who were available to us in the time of conflict are busy working on their own requirements, and it's important for India to look deeper into the foundational capabilities which are important for the long run. The supply chain challenges which we have faced and we are facing have to be addressed fundamentally," Mr Rajvanshi told NDTV.
Citing the case of availability of ammunition, Mr Rajvanshi said defence is not only about programmes.
"For example, one of the key ingredients or raw material which goes into ammunition is propellant. Today, India has a limited base and source of propellant... and this critical raw material may not be available when required. So, we have to start putting our money into some of these critical capabilities across propellant, semiconductors, batteries and some of the electronics which are forming the core of our defence systems going forward," Mr Rajvanshi said.
Gaurav Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB)
Public And Private Sector
He welcomed the 75 per cent allocation to the domestic defence industry, and pointed out at least 90 per cent of this allocation will go to the public sector.
"I'm not against it as it's important that we continue to feed the public sector, HAL, BEL... But it's important that we start diverting some of the capital towards the private sector as well," the Adani Defence and Aerospace CEO said.
"An amount of Rs 28,000 crore has been earmarked for the private sector in 2025-26. What's important is the allocation, completion and efficient use of this capital in the current financial year. And what do I mean by this? A couple of points. One is in 2024-25, Rs 13,000 crore of budget has been unspent, which has been returned by the government, which talks about just the processes in terms of awarding contracts and moving the whole defence sector forward. Number two, the order book of all public sector companies is completely full," Mr Rajvanshi told NDTV.
He said it is important to find better models of public-private partnership to bring efficiency between the public sector order book and the needs of the private sector.
"... All the budget flowing into the private sector happening via the public sector is no longer something which is going to help boost confidence and build capabilities in the private sector. It's very important that we walk the talk.
"We give that opportunity to the private sector to be at a level playing field with the public sector and start diverting a bigger amount to the private sector, assuming the public sector has already met their needs and requirements," Mr Rajvanshi said.
Drishti 6 Multirole High-Performance Tactical UAS
Adani Defence and Aerospace boasts several 'firsts' to its credit - from being India's first private sector military UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) manufacturer exporting to global markets, to establishing India's first private small arms manufacturing facility and the country's first private sector ammunition player.
AI In Defence Industry
Mr Rajvanshi acknowledged artificial intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword in every industry, including defence.
"We have introduced AI in a couple of our products, including in UAVs. There's a positive traction from customers that this is something which is actually helping move away from terabytes and terabytes of data into something which is much more manageable," he said. "So, if you ask me, from surveillance, offensive, cyber security, autonomy, the application of AI is huge. The number of startups in India working in this area is also very promising."
Giving an example of AI's importance in defence, Mr Rajvanshi said a flying surveillance and intelligence platform such as a UAV needs someone to sit in front of a screen and identify potential threats 24x7.
"How does AI step in? AI actually helps facilitate how we move away from this 24x7 surveillance, provide something which is more insightful at the senior level within a couple of minutes, couple of seconds, the points of interest which have been identified and give actionable, tangible areas which can be used by the seniors for taking actions," the Adani Defence and Aerospace CEO said.
(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)
