We must learn now to be self sufficient in production of LCAs and tanks and artillery and naval warships and only such projects can make us so. The LCA Project is just one of them. Every right minded Indian will hope that the long wait for a home grown LCA has ended and it will enter service with the least possible delay without comprising functionability, safety and operational requirements. Success in this venture may well lead the Country towards the goal of self-sufficiency. Now let us turn our attention to the Army, the largest and most used of the three Services for obvious reasons.
Some snags have to be removed and full scale production undertaken.
Here again costs over-runs and certain inherent snags have been an impediment which our National Security Council Pundits appear not to have done anything little realizing that the main land battles in any future war will be based on armour. It is not that we do not have the know-how. Earlier we produced the Vijayanta. Again, we appear to be falling into the trap of going abroad to shop for the MBT in the Russian T 90. But at a cost and of precious foreign exchange.