Description
The Ministry of Defence’s declaration on the very first day of 2025, proclaiming it the “Year of Reforms,” signalled an urgent need to accelerate the Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) drive. Analysing the “Make in India” initiative over the last decade clearly indicates that, in terms of expected outcomes, it has fallen short of its goals.
Is this due to the labyrinth of systemic complexities or the nation’s overregulation, which has shrunk the manufacturing sector’s share of the economy and diminished its competitive edge? Should the focus now be on a “Make in India, Make for the World, and Make for India” combination? Will Aatmanirbharta in a new avatar ensure a seamless journey of the nation, through the nation, and to the nation, with enhanced qualitative R&D spending and greater private sector participation? In this “Year of Reforms,” will India witness substantive change in real terms?
The Defence Budget 2025-26 fell short of being aspirational, despite the 13 percent increase in the capital budget outlay for defence research and technology development and the 400 per cent increase in the allocation for “Make” projects over the revised estimates. A key concern remains the under-utilisation of the overall capital outlay by seven per cent. Can we expect it to be fully utilised in the “Year of Reforms”?
