Covid-19 puts break on ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, key visits postponed

Coronavirus put a break on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” defence plans with two key strategic partners of India calling off their visit to the Capital this month after testing positive. The visits are now being rescheduled on a priority.

The first visitor to call off the visit to India was French President’s Diplomatic Advisor Emmanuel Bonne, who was scheduled to hold Strategic Dialogue with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on March 22 in Delhi. The visit was cancelled after Bonne got infected with Covid. 

This meeting was a follow up to the two key advisors meeting in November last year. Perhaps one of India’s closest allies, France is willing to set up defence manufacturing units in critical technologies in collaboration with private players in India without the usual hurdles of licensing and third-party sales and export. Besides, France and India are close partners in the Indo-Pacific and are on the same page on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

One must remember that France is the only country that does not supply hardware to India’s two main adversaries in the west and in the north.

The second important visit that has got rescheduled is of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, who was hit by the coronavirus on the eve of his visit to India from April 3-5. Apart from France, Israel is the other country that is willing to set up defence manufacturing in India with private players and has already set up several joint ventures in critical technologies. The success of the medium-range surface to air missile project stands out as a key milestone in India-Israel defence ties. Israel was also willing to set up a project with an Indian private player to manufacture Spike shoulder fired anti-tank missile in India. The positive role played by Israel in India’s national security calculus cannot be denied as, like France, Tel Aviv has come to the aid of New Delhi even at the last minute by supplying precision ammunition or surveillance platforms. Due to the Covid-19 infection, the scheduled visit of the Israeli defence minister on March 30-31 was also postponed at the last moment.

The war in Ukraine has shown the importance of “atmanirbharta” in military hardware and the crucial role played by stand-off weapons like armed drones, shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles and airborne early warning systems. For a country that practices strategic autonomy, France and Israel are a way to “atmanirbhar Bharat.”