I think building systems on your own is a great idea but at the same time there is a fine line between what we would like to build and what we can actually build. The bottom line is that Civilians should not dicticate to the armed forces as to what they should buy.They are the end users and thus are the best people to decide what they want. Thats how its done in most developed nations. The Gov job is to provide fund and make sure no bribes or illegal activities have taken place in the contract. My opinion about DRDO is that in the name of nationalism we are forcing our armed forces to use junk or in many cases forcing them to delay buying new weapons like fighter jets due to the fact DRDO has been promising LCA for the last 20 years ! No wonder we have a problem today in the IAF that they have few modern aircrafts and in desperation have upgraded an aging Mig 21.
The best solution for India is to have DRDO find international partners. Every thing in a global economy is done with colobrations. US too has many defense colobarations with nations in the EU and Israel. So should India. If DRDO fails to produce a system in a given time frame then the armed forces should not be held on ransom, they should be given the green light to buy from international vendors.
We need more competition in the defense market. Have more Indian companies compete with DRDO. In that way DRDO will not take things for granted.
