India’s push for defence self-sufficiency has reshaped procurement policy and set an ambitious 2047 deadline for a fully indigenous navy. Yet its largest defence deal in years reveals how ambition outpaces capability.
India is one of the largest arms-importing countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long envisioned making India self-reliant in defence production. Under initiatives such as Atmanirbharta (self-reliance), the BJP government changed structural and procurement policies to accelerate defence indigenisation. One of the aims has been to make the Indian Navy fully self-sufficient by 2047. In this regard, Project-75 India (P-75I) is an integral part of manufacturing defence equipment indigenously. Simultaneously, India is in the final stage of acquiring six advanced stealth submarines from Germany for around $8 billion. At one end, Narendra Modi wants to reduce defence imports; at the other, he is going to sign one of the largest defence deals between India and Germany. This does not represent a policy inconsistency but is a bid to boost India’s maritime capabilities and bridge the technological gap.
Developing an indigenous defence industry offers significant economic, strategic, and technological advantages, allowing a nation to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. Economically, a developed defence industry not only provides jobs but also has the potential to make money through arms exports. Strategically, in times of conflict and international sanctions, a homegrown defence industry ensures the maintenance, development, and availability of critical military equipment. Simultaneously, it creates an ecosystem in which increased Research and Development (R&D) and rapid prototyping for tactical superiority leads to technological growth.
In 2020, Narendra Modi launched the Atmanirbharta initiative to promote Indian goods, including defence, in the global supply chain. In a significant move towards indigenous defence production, the Indian government banned the import of 101 defence items, including conventional diesel-electric submarines. Additionally, the Modi government initiated major structural and organisational changes within India’s defence framework. The appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in 2019 and the establishment of the Department of Military Affairs marked a pivotal step in streamlining procurement for the three branches of the armed forces. To further accelerate indigenisation efforts, Defence Industrial Corridors were established in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Defence spending rose by 210% from USD 30.3Bn (2014–15) to USD 94.6Bn (2026–27). These steps highlight Modi’s ambitions to make India self-sufficient in defence manufacturing to develop critical military equipment at home.
Last month, the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Germany to strengthen the strategic defence partnership. During the visit, Berlin agreed to provide six conventional submarines in one of New Delhi’s largest defence deals. Despite already having four domestically made nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), the rationale for this deal is India’s interest in the Air-Independent Propulsion System (AIP). The AIP has a force-multiplying effect on the lethality of a diesel-electric submarine by enhancing its submerged endurance several-fold. German diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) use this technology, which extends their ability to remain submerged for longer periods.
The Project-75 India (P-75I) is a part of India’s efforts to acquire the capability to design and construct advanced SSK indigenously. New Delhi’s largest defence agreement with Berlin is part of this initiative. Under this project, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been working on indigenously building AIP. However, since its inception in the 1990s, the programme has made no substantial progress due to several deferments and delays. Besides, DRDO chairman Samir Kamat said aggressive underbidding by industry players had hampered progress on key defence projects. The deal with German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is an effort to sustain the 75 India. TKMS has been providing shipbuilding services for 185 years. It is widely considered the world leader in conventional (non-nuclear) submarine design, with its vessels currently in service with 27 navies, including over 70% of NATO conventional fleets.
Joint ventures represent Technology 3 level, in which critical systems are imported while the rest of the work is done indigenously. Under P-75I, India has built six Kalvari-class submarines in collaboration with France. In a major boost to Atmanirbharta, New Delhi has been retrofitting these submarines with indigenously built AIP technology. The current deal between Germany’s TKMS and India’s state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. is another joint venture. Mazagon Ltd will design the outer structure and import critical technologies, such as AIP. It should be noted that domestic manufacturing faces significant difficulties. After all, steps such as thermal management and silent power output require precision and experience. This highlights a technological gap in the Indian Defence Industry.
Besides the technological gap, India’s conventional submarine fleet is aging and short on numbers due to procurement delays and institutional sluggishness. In 1999, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved a plan to construct a total of 24 submarines over 30 years. However, due to financial constraints, only six submarines of Kalvari Class – INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela, INS Vagir, and INS Vagsheer – would be authorised for operational status by the mid-2030s. Against this background, the deal with Germany will not only enhance the technology transfer but also the maritime capabilities of the Indian Navy.
Despite introducing several structural, massive-funding, and procurement changes under the Atmanirbharta policy, the Modi government’s ambition to make the Indian Navy self-sufficient by 2047 remains a distant dream. Persistent institutional delays and technological gaps limit the realisation of a self-sufficient navy. Even when the government banned the import of conventional submarines, circumstances pushed it to overlook the self-sufficient policy (Atmanirbharta). The India-Germany deal for six advanced submarines aims to fulfil the technological gap and boost its maritime capabilities.
Kumail Mehdi works as a Research Assistant at the Center for International Strategic Studies, Islamabad. His expertise includes Indian Strategic Culture, Military Industrial Complex, and Arms Control.
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