Supply chain disruptions an opportunity for defence industry to make India net exporter: CDS Gen Anil Chauhan
Speaking at the Ammo India 2024 Conference organised by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in Delhi, the CDS said that the global geopolitical environment is in a state of flux. He said that it is an opportunity for the domestic defence industry to bolster manufacturing capabilities to make India a net exporter.
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FollowStating that the defence landscape is rapidly evolving rapidly in the face of global conflicts, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Thursday said that it is an opportunity for the domestic defence industry to bolster manufacturing capabilities to make India a net exporter.
Speaking at the Ammo India 2024 Conference organised by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in Delhi, the CDS said that the global geopolitical environment is in a state of flux.
“We are passing through an era of big global disruptions. Amidst the vagaries of the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) of the World, the global arms industry is grappling with a seemingly insurmountable problem of widening demand and supply gap,” CDS Gen Anil Chauhan said.
“The global geopolitical environment is in a state of flux. I believe that we are passing through an era of big global disruptions encompassing technological, economic and environmental.”
Talking about the conflict spread worldwide like Russia-Ukraine, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Azerbaijan-Armenia, Gen Chauhan said: “The world is in the most violent phase of its existence since World War II.”
“The global security environment has been altered by two major wars that are not only intense but also have been protracted for a very long time. However, there are also a number of other conflicts raging across other parts of the world, be it Myanmar, Sudan, the Sahel region or Congo. The wars in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Armenia may have settled down for the time being but a lasting peace is still elusive”, he added.
There has been huge gaps in demand and supply due to disruption in the supply chain, he stressed that there is an opportunity for the arms manufacturers.
“The vagaries of this VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world are impacting the global defence supply chains, especially ammunition. The global arms industry is presently grappling with this widening gap between demand and supply.”
“The reliance on imports to bridge this gap is becoming a necessity for most nations highlighting global interdependence in defence supplies. These disruptions have presented opportunities to the global defence arms manufacturers including the ammunition industry including India.”
Speaking about the challenges India has been facing, he said: “we have proxy war raged by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, whose sudden escalation we are now seeing in South of Pir Panjal. The prolonged border dispute with China is yet to abate. There are two major security challenges that we face. The instability in our neighbourhood is another cause of concern for us.”
