The government shouts from the roof top about its make in India strategy.
But when it comes to the multi core RAFELE deal with a multimillion potential for make in India it faulters and goes in for the flyaway model of purchase. This typifies the contradiction we practice between what we preach and what we practice.
THE EARLIER DEAL WITH HAL AS THE OFFSET PARTNER would have given the nation us manifold benefits. The private sector would have also got the benefits and more as HAL would have made then component vendors and associate manufacturers for sub systems for final integration. HAL has the capability and maturity that any one private sector company may not have.
The opportunity, experience and money India would have earned but now lost out to the various aspects of manufacturing the first lot in India have been lost forever. The infrastructure capabilities that we could have built by this route is immeasurably lost. A small part of this is actually the monetized value we have agreed to give to France as the increased cost of the first lot. Our cost for manufacturing partly in India for the rest of the quantity will be far higher. The claimed benefit of having the "game changer" 36 rafele jets is only illusionary. Without the maintenance capability and strategic support the first lot is only a money drainer of our defense preparedness and independence. The true picture is beyond the understanding of the general public. The government is unnecessarily politicalising the issue by nudging the profession air force establishment to come and defend an indefensible position.
The full potential of the rafele will be realized only with the deployment of the Russian S400 system along our sensitive borders.
You will appreciate that aviation engineering as with other technological advance equipment is about technology integration.
"Make in India" is about stream lining the whole system of industrial activity. The sequence starts with mineral mining, transportation, metal refining and processing to basic raw material for the manufacturing and fabrication sector and component, subcomponent and system configuration and final product integration.
Take the example of our program on EV. After drafting the FAME 2, the government realizes that the battery is more important that the chassis or product integration. ( manufactureing the EV vechicle). It then goes back to redraw the plans. While there are more than fifty Indian companies working at various critical advanced stages of BMS (battery management systems) and Ion lithium battery processes. Most of these cutting edge technology companies working on subcomponents face the constraints of regulated market conditions for import of critical parts or machinery with no help from the government.
But away from the glare of the policy makers they have survived to have got the attention of many major players in the automotive sector. Under their financial and organization interest and participation they have been able to bring out world-class technological EVs.
In short, the absence of a government policy is sometimes better than a faulty one which and guides an innovative industry to pursues/ follow a wrongly made policy.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON by the Indian IT pioneers is the story of an industry which successfully built only because of the absence of government in the nascent industry.
It is a researched fact that political presence (let alone interference) kills innovation. And today innovation is essential to survival. The successful industries and systems of economic development of the next 15 years have not been started as yet. Why then is the government in this business at all?
The future public mobility space will undergo a transformational change from what it is today. The urban pattern of transit and work commute will change over the next ten years. As nature of work itself will change bringing a quantum change of commute density patterns. Sustainable High-density transit in metros will be based on mass public transport and much less on cars.
The coal and nonrenewable fuel-based power and steel sectors will shrink in comparative value terms (ratio) to rare earth minerals and carbon composites and nanomaterials.
The changes will be explosive and impactful in comparison to what even the developed world is experiencing. India will have the opportunity to leapfrog half a century. As some scientists say, the industrial revolution hasn't even started yet. Finance will play a secondary role to human capital in the next stage of our evolution. What we will experience over the next twenty years will be phenomenal. With the advent of the new era we will overcome some of the older problems, but along with change will come newer problems of housing and health?
At BUSINESS500 we will have some very exciting dialogues on the future. Join us with your participation to make it even more enjoyable and revealing. Keep watching our forthcoming sections._
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