The entry of Bharat Forge into India’s defense manufacturing industry is evidence of the “Make in India” movement’s revolutionary effects. In his latest account of the company’s early setbacks and eventual success, Chairman Baba Kalyani emphasized how long-standing skepticism and legislative restrictions had inhibited local innovation.
When Bharat Forge displayed its first artillery piece at a defense expo in Delhi in 2012, the military establishment was shocked and even mocked. Many army men passed by, and some of them chuckled.
The entry of Bharat Forge into India’s defense manufacturing industry is evidence of the “Make in India” movement’s revolutionary effects. In his latest account of the company’s early setbacks and eventual success, Chairman Baba Kalyani emphasized how long-standing skepticism and legislative restrictions had inhibited local innovation.
When Bharat Forge displayed its first artillery piece at a defense expo in Delhi in 2012, the military establishment was shocked and even mocked. Many army men passed by, and some of them chuckled.
The policy environment, however, was unfriendly to the involvement of the private sector. In spite of a complete technology transfer from Sweden’s Bofors in the 1980s, the government excluded private innovators like Bharat Forge and limited defense manufacturing to state-run companies. Despite meeting with then-prime minister Manmohan Singh and defense minister AK Antony in 2011, Kalyani’s direct requests to policymakers were ignored and never followed up on.
This atmosphere of exclusion continued until the Narendra Modi-led administration made a significant policy change. A watershed was reached in December 2014 with the introduction of the “Make in India” campaign. At a defense conference that year, Kalyani helped design new policy ideas, laying the groundwork for reforms that would allow private companies to enter the market.
The Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar’s 2016 revision of the Defence Procurement Procedure, which simplified procedures and resolved long-standing implementation issues, was the true turning point.
According to Kalyani, China and South Korea advanced in defense technology because of India’s prior unwillingness to engage private industry. He claims that bureaucratic red tape and a public sector monopoly that valued paperwork above creativity hampered innovation.
By using its metallurgical strengths, Bharat Forge was able to offer artillery weapons at half the price of imports, demonstrating both cost savings and indigenous capacity as a result of the change to a more open, competitive market.
Once disregarded and ignored, Bharat Forge’s artillery systems are now emblematic of India’s industrial aspirations and strategic independence. The company’s primary business area today is defense manufacturing, with all of its goods manufactured in India using local resources and knowledge. Kalyani emphasizes that the change was fueled as much by individual conviction and tenacity as it was by changes in policy. “No one trusted us, even though we possessed the technology and the pricing advantage. They do now,” he said.
The tale of Bharat Forge demonstrates how the “Make in India” campaign sparked a more extensive transformation in the nation’s defense industry, unleashing potential that had been long stifled by institutional skepticism and legislative paralysis.
