Defence modernization

Story hook

It is 23 March 2024. From Wheeler Island, Odisha, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fires the Agni-Prime (Agni-P) missile — a two-stage solid-fuel intermediate- range ballistic missile, 1,000-2,000 km range, canisterised for rapid launch, manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle (MaRV) for terminal accuracy. Three days earlier, on 20 March 2024, INS Tushil, a Krivak-class frigate (Project 1135.6), is commissioned at Kaliningrad, Russia — the seventh in a class, with 26% indigenous content.

The same week, the Defence Acquisition Council under Defence Minister Rajnath Singh clears ₹84,560 crore of procurement — including 220 BrahMos extended-range missiles, shipborne MR SAM systems, and DRDO Astra Mk-1 air-to-air missiles. Of the total, 99% is from indigenous sources — a record share.

This is the new face of Indian defence. Since the 2020 reform wave — the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, the positive indigenisation lists, chiefly of Defence Staff (CDS), Agnipath, and theatre commands — the Indian defence ecosystem has shifted from buyer's club to producer's club. The ₹1.27 lakh crore defence production value (FY 24), the ₹21,083 crore exports (FY 24), and the 24-week Galwan-to- Operation Sindoor learning curve all signal an inflection.

For UPSC GS-III, defence modernization is the most strategic sub-topic — it tests the candidate's grasp of capability building, indigenisation, civil-military reform, and great-power competition.

Why this matters for UPSC

GS-III explicitly carries "defence-related procurement" and "various security forces and their mandate". Mains 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 have asked indigenisation, DAP, Agnipath, theatre command questions. Prelims tests dates of major reforms, defence production statistics, and missile names. Interview boards probe Atmanirbharta vs imports trade-offs.