Battle heats up for a share of the defence pie

With access to foreign investment becoming easier, a host of Indian companies vie for a share of the $100-billion budget for equipment. W hen it comes to high-mobility, multi-purpose personnel carriers like the Humvee, which is the transport backbone of the US Army, India lags far behind.   But in three years from now, the world's third-largest armed force could have its own Humvee-like light combat vehicle - produced indigenously.  With the opening up of defence production to private sector, with 49 per cent foreig…