Factors Influencing Self-Reliance in Defence Capabilities of India: A Systematic Literature Review

India is the fifth-largest economy and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. It has a well-established defence industry in both the public and private sectors, and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop indigenous technologies. Several initiatives have been introduced to strengthen the domestic defence industry, including the ‘Make in India’ campaign that increased foreign direct investment in defence companies, grants to support defence start-ups, and a negative import list for defence products. However, India remains heavily dependent on imports of foreign arms. This study focuses on understanding the relationships between various factors impacting India’s achievement of self-reliance in defence capability. Aspects such as defence budget affordability and allocation, envisaged defence capability to face security risks, development of innovative defence technologies, embracing new warfare concepts in keeping with emerging trends and current defence acquisition processes and procedures to enhance self-reliance have been analysed through a Systematic Literature Survey. Based on these inputs, India has presented a conceptual model for achieving self-reliance in defence capabilities.