What Happened
Architecting Sovereign Defence Industrial Base Through Indigenous IP
India is transitioning from the ‘Make in India’ initiative to ‘Owned by India’, aiming to achieve true strategic autonomy in defence manufacturing by focusing on indigenous Intellectual Property (IP) ownership. The current model has created an ‘Assembly Trap’, where India remains dependent on foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for critical components and life-cycle support. This shift towards ‘Owned by India’ requires reforming procurement pipelines, empowering private-sector deep-tech innovation, and de-linking IP ownership from state funding, as reported by Raksha Anirveda.