The ministry will have little defence for the fiasco that the show is heading towards, with exaggerated numbers and important tenders set in the midst of it.
The IGST component of total import duty collections is growing faster than that from Customs duty. And states enjoy a larger share in the rapidly growing pie of IGST on imports.
India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
Its a circus. We have had 3 different defense ministers in the past 4 years, and DefExpo has been held wherever the incumbent fancies it be held (i e in his / her home state – it would seem that these worthies cannot rise above their narrow parochial affiliations). The state of the DefExpo mirrors the state of the Ministry of Defense and that of our national defense itself i.e. a rudderless tamasha (spectacle). On the one hand we have been pursuing a high profile, increasingly strident foreign policy, even as geopolitical alliances shift – such as the emerging compact between Russia, China and Pakistan; even as the security situation in our neighborhood becomes more fluid, what with Doklam, Maldives and the continuing unrest in Kashmir; but on the other hand we show criminal neglect of our defense preparedness. Force levels continue to deplete (E.g. the IAF squadron strength). Procurement is worse than a bad joke (witness the 3 successive initiatives that were launched and have failed in the realm of combat aircraft alone i.e. the FGFA, MMRCA, single-engine fighter procurement).
We are good at organising Tamashas!Wonder what will happen if some future RM hails from Arunachal!!
Its a circus. We have had 3 different defense ministers in the past 4 years, and DefExpo has been held wherever the incumbent fancies it be held (i e in his / her home state – it would seem that these worthies cannot rise above their narrow parochial affiliations). The state of the DefExpo mirrors the state of the Ministry of Defense and that of our national defense itself i.e. a rudderless tamasha (spectacle). On the one hand we have been pursuing a high profile, increasingly strident foreign policy, even as geopolitical alliances shift – such as the emerging compact between Russia, China and Pakistan; even as the security situation in our neighborhood becomes more fluid, what with Doklam, Maldives and the continuing unrest in Kashmir; but on the other hand we show criminal neglect of our defense preparedness. Force levels continue to deplete (E.g. the IAF squadron strength). Procurement is worse than a bad joke (witness the 3 successive initiatives that were launched and have failed in the realm of combat aircraft alone i.e. the FGFA, MMRCA, single-engine fighter procurement).