It all started with the clarion call of PM Narendra Modi on May 12, with slogans like "Aatma-N irbhar Bharat" and "vocal for local" to make India a self-reliant country and increase India's share in the global supply chain. Then came decisions to ban Chinese apps and Chinese investments. Next in chronology came the defence production and export promotion policy (DPEPP, 2020) which aims to increase India's self-reliance in the defence industry. Analysing how things are transpiring in this time of Pandemic and increasing Chinese belligerence, India's call for self-reliance looks hefty not just in numbers but also in its intent. India's reliance on imports in defence as well as in other areas has been pointed out many a time as unsustainable for India's growth but negligent to these calls, India's growth has been feeding onto this very idea. The call of an Aatma-nirbhar Bharat with no clear-cut policy and long-term vision coupled with an arc...