‘India has to invent jets and drones’: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu amid debate over Tejas production

Zoho Corporation CEO Sridhar Vembu on Sunday said that there was a need for India to achieve technological self-reliance in critical sectors like defense, citing the importance of innovation for national security and economic strength. He made the remarks in response to a tweet by social media user Indranil Roy, who defended the indigenous Tejas fighter jet program amid criticism over production delays.

Roy tweeted, “Every country self-dependent on its own jets. E.g. US did it during the beginning of WWII. Prime example of today is China. Upcoming ones: S. Korea, Turkey.” He said that the countries which have gone for ‘better available’ options are losing their self-dependence, e.g. Japan, Germany, and UK.

There have been demands from a section of people that India should consider ordering jets from foreign manufacturers to meet the demands of the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, others favor going all out to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and ensure that the country becomes self-reliant in meeting its defense requirements.

“India has to invent jets and drones…For our size of population, for India to have its place in the world, we have to invent and invent pretty much every important piece of technology, crucial to national security and economic strength,” Vembu tweeted. “The path to achieving that technological self-reliance is hard. It requires sacrifice—and most of that from our private sector. It is the private sector that has to step up and invest in long-range industrial R&D. It is a patriotic mission, not just a pragmatic calculus of profit.”

Vembu also highlighted the mindset required for innovation, emphasising curiosity, continuous learning, and resource frugality as essential traits for scientists and engineers. He called on the private sector to adopt these values and invest heavily in research and development to address India’s challenges in defense production.

The debate over self-reliance in defense comes amid sharp criticism from Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on the slow production of Tejas fighter jets by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). “Technology delayed is technology denied,” Singh said recently as he pointed out that HAL has yet to deliver the first 40 Tejas aircraft, despite production beginning in 2016.

“Production agencies have to invest in their advanced manufacturing processes so that the speed can increase. Upskilling their manpower and whatever they do, the scale of production has to go up,” Singh said. He called for increased participation from private players and competition in defense manufacturing to improve efficiency and prevent complacency.

Tejas, India’s indigenous light combat aircraft, has been in development since 1984, with its first flight in 2001. However, the long timeline and production delays have drawn criticism from defense experts and policymakers. Singh stressed the urgency for advanced manufacturing and multiple sources of production to ensure timely delivery and support for the armed forces.

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