CDS Gen Chauhan Slams Indian Defence Firms For Delays, Overpricing: Full List Inside
He urged them to prioritise national security and cost-competitiveness over profits, emphasising accountability and truthful representation of indigenous content to bolster military readiness.
India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has issued a stern warning to domestic defence manufacturers, saying the armed forces expect “a bit of nationalism and patriotism” in an industry driven largely by profits. His remarks follow mounting concerns that Indian firms have failed to deliver on fast-track contracts meant to boost military readiness.
Speaking at a United Services Institution (USI) seminar on Friday, Gen Chauhan said that several companies had over-promised and under-delivered during the fifth and sixth phases of the emergency procurement (EP) mechanism.
‘You cannot leave us in the lurch’
The CDS stressed that defence reforms demand accountability from both sides, not just the government and the military.
“When you sign a contract and don’t deliver in that particular time frame, it is a capability that is being lost,” he said. Calling the delays “unacceptable,” he said the Army had reported that “most” Indian firms did not meet contractual deadlines.
EP mechanism: Designed for rapid delivery
The EP route was created to fast-track urgent purchases, allowing contracts of up to ₹300 crore to be executed within a year — bypassing the lengthy standard procurement process. EP-5, cleared last year, was reserved exclusively for domestic industry, and EP-6 followed soon after.
These approvals came in the wake of cross-border hostilities with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May, pushing the armed forces to urgently replenish critical stockpiles such as loitering munitions, long-range weapons, missiles, kamikaze drones and counter-drone systems.
Concerns over inflated ‘indigenisation’
Gen Chauhan also took aim at companies allegedly misrepresenting indigenous content by importing major components and merely assembling them in India.
“A lot of industries say this [a product] is 70% indigenous, but actually, if you find out, it is not. You have to be truthful about this. Because it is related to matters of security,” he cautioned.
Cost competitiveness a key challenge
The CDS further criticised the overpricing of weapon systems, urging Indian firms to benchmark against global competition rather than pushing costly products exclusively to the armed forces.
“You have to be cost-competitive to compete in the foreign market. You can’t have products that are overpriced,” he said.
Indigenous defence manufacturers
Indigenous defence companies include state-owned public sector undertakings (PSUs) as well as private companies in India.
The PSUs include
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
- Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
- Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL)
- Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
- Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML)
Among the private companies are
- Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL)
- Mahindra Defence Systems
- Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
- L&T Defence
- MTAR Technologies
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