Ramana:
1) I looked at the Dec 2022 list
Total items: 37
Items that are too specific (either because they are too narrow or name the product specifically or are just components of a specific system): 1,2,3,6,12,27,28,34. Total 8 out of 37 systems --> more than 20%
2) What's not there? If the list was to be impactful, we should have seen some or all of the below in the list. These would be broad categories of major weapon systems that we already have indigenous capability for. None of these in the list even upto 2027!
Army: Tanks, armored vehicles, artillery. The mention of light tank in the Dec 2025 list doesn't count. Tanks as a category should be import-banned
Air Force: Medium weight fighter aircraft
Navy: SSKs and SSNs
All: Light Utility Helicopters for all services & civilian use, Light Combat Helicopters
3) MGS is listed in the no-import list starting Dec 2025. Why? Kalyani MGS is ready today!
4) Items are listed with a start date based on when the MoD thinks it will be inducted. Example: light tanks in Dec 2025. Does it mean that the IA can import Sprut till then? If an item has a clear indigenization potential and a plan, it should make it to the current year's December list - not some future date. Otherwise, what stops the Army from importing its entire requirement of light tanks in the next 3 years, effectively killing the program?
5) MALE-UAV has a target date of Dec 2026. And Rustom, we hear, is ready to be handed over this year! What gives?
6) Like the items mentioned in #1 above, there are many gap-fillers. The number of LRUs in Tejas is 134. These are just the major components. If we multiply by the number of platforms and start including smaller components also, we can literally come up with 1000s of items that can be targeted for indigenization. You can have the next 10 years of 101 items each, filled with these. Example: item 52 (marine grade aluminium alloy plates
). There needs to be a benchmark for what gets into the list. Only items that are considered major components, are non-specific & are of high-value should even qualify to be in the list