Jet Engines

According to industry specialists, China will spend $49 billion on jet engine development over the next two decades.

There is a clear economic logic behind his huge expenditure: Going by the present trends, engines for new aircraft delivered to China would be worth over $100 billion during the same period. There are only a handful of companies that manufacture these engines - General Electric (USA), Snecma (Safran, France), Rolls Royce Plc (UK), Pratt & Whitney (UTC, USA), and a few Russian agencies. As in any other hi-tech area, none of the established players want to part with their technology.

About a decade ago, China solved a similar problem in high-speed train technology by playing off the Kawasaki-Japan against their German competitors. It is a different story - and rather unfortunate - that China's "digestion" of this technology has been mired by frequent accidents and corruption in high places. The point here is that concerted effort is being made to dilute the stranglehold of a few companies.

Is India making similar efforts?

We do have something called the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE). This DRDO agency has been working on on jet engines since the 1960s, but there is precious little (GTX-Kaveri) to show for all the time and effort. We blame the American regime of technology restrictions, and then go on to sign numerous 'collaboration agreements' with Western companies, to continue the vicious cycle of path dependence.

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REFERENCES / LINKS

* Lague, David and Charlie Zhu (2012): INSIGHT - UNABLE TO COPY IT, CHINA TRIES BUILDING OWN JET ENGINE, Reuters, 29Oct12, url - http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/29/us-china-engine-idUSBRE89S17B20121029

* Wines, Michael and Keith Bradsher (2011): CHINA RAIL CHIEF'S FIRING HINTS AT TROUBLE, NYT, url - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/world/asia/18rail.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

* Reddy, C. Manmohan (2002): LCA ECONOMICS, The Hindu, url - http://hindu.com/thehindu/biz/2002/09/16/stories/2002091600190300.htm

Rezang La, 1962

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Last week, the Indian Express carried a eulogy dedicated to the soldier's of the 13th Kumaon Regiment who defended parts of Ladakh during the 1962 India-China war. The focus of this piece was the "C" company led by a Major Shaitan Singh, which defended the outpost, almost down to the last man. And the sting in the tail was reserved for the then defense minister, Krishna Menon ('an obstinate, autocratic disaster').

This was one of the many introspective articles that have appeared to mark the 50th Anniversary of the war. Nearly all of them conclude that it was Nehru's smug arrogance that led to the war but what continues to surprise me is that we are still missing the woods for the trees. Fifty years ago, we went around with a hat in hand, asking the Americans, and then the Soviets for armaments, equipment and other assistance.

We continue to do that even today and, instead of developing our own R&D and manufacturing capacity, we have spawned an entire industry of Indian middlemen promoting foreign armament companies in India.

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BOOKS TO READ:

* Maxwell, Neville (): India's China War
* Singh, Amarinder (): Lest We Forget
* Chellaney, Brahma (2012): HOW CHINA FIGHTS - LESSONS FROM THE 1962 WAR, Newsweek, 29Oct12, url - http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/28/how-china-fights-lessons-from-the-1962-sino-indian-war.html