From Dependency to Autonomy: Revamping the Defense Acquisition

India's defense acquisition landscape has long been characterized by a reliance on foreign imports, hindering strategic autonomy and indigenous capability development. This paper delves with the imperative for India to transition from dependency to autonomy in defense acquisition, emphasizing the need for comprehensive reforms to strengthen domestic defense industry capabilities. By analyzing current challenges, including bureaucratic inefficiencies, technology gaps, and policy constraints, this paper identifies key areas for revamping defense acquisition processes. Proposed reforms encompass streamlining procurement procedures, enhancing research and development capabilities, promoting public-private partnerships, and leveraging emerging technologies. Drawing on international best practices and successful case studies, this paper offers actionable recommendations for policy makers, defense planners, and industry stakeholders to accelerate India's journey towards self-reliance in defense acquisition. Emphasizing the strategic significance of autonomy in defense procurement, this paper underscores the importance of fostering indigenous innovation, promoting collaboration, and investing in human capital to enhance India's defense capabilities and safeguard national security interests in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. It also focuses on the defense acquisition policies by Indian government under the ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ and how it will ultimately help the Indian defense policies in a long-term manner. The primordial objective of this paper is to focus on the advanced indigenous defense acquisition policies of India for a defense autonomy nation in the world arena.