Technology and Knowledge Transfer Without Illegal Commissions, the Right Way to Development

Delhi- Make In India’ initiative presents the European country with an additional opportunity to strengthen its economic ties with India. Ambassador of Spain in India, Gustavo De Arístegui, took one step further and is of the view that they want to not only transfer tech, but develop it together.

Spanish companies are pitching in sectors like infrastructure, transport and energy, areas in which Spain has proven prowess. Spanish investment in India has been over $1.3 billion. India’s total investment in Spain is valued at around 605 million euros. Seeking to give a strategic cast to bilateral ties, the two countries have inked a defense pact that entails, among other things, exchanging defense-related experience, information, encouraging visits of personnel, collaboration in the defense industry and other similar areas of cooperation.

Gustavo de Aristegui

Gustavo de Arístegui is excited and had done the planning very carefully. It is not only about transferring technology and building together in India, it is about developing technology together. He is very clear about this and wants this to be a fulfilling partnership, based on trust, mutual respect and mutual beneficial conditions. Many Spanish firms have shown an interest in selling high-tech weaponry to India. Spanish defense companies such as Indra are already engaged with the Indian armed forces in the areas of radar and communication.

The C-295, which is 100% Spanish, that has got approval by the government for the Avro’s replacement in the Indian Air Force. This is the first Make In India project. The Indian authorities have noted that Spain is a world player in a lot of aspects that have not been taken into account before. Spain is the sixth largest industrial defense country in the world.

In today’s fast-paced operational scenario, a supply ship can be a much-sophisticated combat support ship, and due to Gustavo’s vision, Spain would be happy to be involved from the design to the building stage. He believes that Navantia’s S-80 Submarine, which is in the final stages of construction for the Spanish Navy, could be a good reference for the P-75I. Navantia forms part of the Scorpene India consortium with DCNS of France. It is providing design and transfer of technology to Mazagon Dock Limited to build six Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy under Project-75.

The Indian Navy was planning to build tankers to look after big ships like the aircraft carriers and some LPDs like INS Jalashwa, as also six more diesel-electric submarines with AIP. The Spanish submarines, designated S-80, are using an innovative AIP system to charge fuel cells, similar to those in the US space shuttle programmes.

Navantia has an MoU with Larsen and Toubro (L&T), which is already working with the Indian Navy in heavy engineering and has built parts of the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant and the fast attack craft (FAC) built by Goa Shipyard. Navantia and L&T are working jointly on building four LPDs like INS Jalashwa for amphibious military operations and disaster relief for the Indian Navy.

The Spanish company Indra has a presence in India.It has a significant presence in India, where its radars control most of the air space. The company holds almost 90% of market. It is the biggest player in air traffic controls systems. Indra is the biggest in that sector in the world; even in Germany, they have an overwhelming share and in Europe, it is 60 %; and in the US, 35%. Spain has some of the most advanced systems of air traffic control, some of the most advanced civilian radars and systems.

Additionally, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) commissioned Indra to modernise Delhi’s air control centre, one of the country’s most important centres and from which one of the greatest air traffic areas is managed, including operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Gustavo de Arístegui raises his hands on prevention of illegal commissions made during these contracts. Gustavo say a stern no to these illegal commissions. He says that these illegal commissions not only hinder the quality of knowledge and technology transferred but they will come down to mere opportunity to do this corruption. Gustavo describes an effective deal as the one without these illegal commissions. Barring these illegal commissions, Gustavo de Arístegui favors technology and knowledge transfer.