In the 1960s, US defense was almost 1/10th of GDP. This was when America was near its economic peak. India has gargantuan defense needs. If indigenisation is prioritised, multiplier effects would be there. Debt is manageable. We don't need to go to 10% but we need 4% (from 2.5%).
We should not underestimate when the world's greatest manufacturing power ever - China - even if it is not quite at the tech frontier decides to overwhelm your naval and land forces with sheer quantity of machines. I detect some complacency. I think we must arm - arm extensively.
War is too important to be left to the generals and bureaucrats. All great powers have been fiscal-military states, I cannot think of any exceptions on the military side at least (some did not have fiscal/debt/financial capacity, true - but India can and should have both facets)
Quality is critical, but quantity - and rapidity - has its own quality. Tejas has been one of the most heartwarming stories here so have been a few other big and small ones. We have the industrial base, the scale, the political will. A genuine peace is won by being ready for war.
Short-term we will need imports as well which in turn also buy us some goodwill to the extent we must access this channel. We can smartly transition to be self-reliant by the end of this decade, and we are trying that with various policies/reforms. We just need more money, speed.
I hope it becomes clear (as an additional reason) why I keep on talking about an open capital account for India, and real interest rates more in tune with the rest of the world's. We are paying a huge portion of our taxes as interest on accumulated debt. The rates must come down.
Nobody becomes a superpower on the cheap. Neither will India. But India must become a superpower. So long as there are superpowers, why should the world's largest population soon - a representative polity, an ancient civilisation - not be a superpower? Anything less is shameful.
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