Abstract
After assuming premiership in May 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a new push to traditional Indian inclination towards indigenous production under the new slogan ‘Making in India’ in general and with regard to the military industrial complex in particular (p. ix). Indian government has undertaken a number of enabling reforms in the domain of defence industry (p.63), especially its private sector whose contribution has traditionally been non-existent (p.64). Ministry of Defence (MoD) has also promulgated a host of compliance related measures. The book under review analyses the current status of Indian Defence Industrial Base (DIB) and seeks to answer the intriguing question: Does the Indian DIB, especially its private sub-sector, has requisite strength to shoulder the responsibility of achieving the benchmarks stipulated by ‘Making in India’ initiative. Dr Laxman answers this question in an implicit manner, combining an apologetic ‘yes’ and a reluctant ‘no’, while adding intriguing ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.