India's military, which long kept the private sector at arm's length, is now embracing top companies to try to achieve its ambition for a complete and self-reliant national defence.
Industrial groups such as Tata, Larsen and Toubro and also Mahindra and Mahindra, are chipping away at the state monopoly on defence with aggressive bidding, company officials said.
"We are asking the government to give weightage to the private sector in critical technology areas, as India cannot forever depend on foreign vendors," said Sujit Haridas, who heads the defence wing of the Confederation of Indian Industry trade lobby.
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