Ajit has been recently promoted as the Head of the Department of Weapon Sales (DWS) in the Ministry of Defence Production (MDP). His charter of duties includes international sales of weapons produced domestically by MDP.
In two recent wars, MDP weapons have performed admirably, resulting in many countries showing interest in buying them, particularly long-range artillery and missiles. Country A and country B have asked for these weapons. However, production constraints restrict DWS to accept only one purchase order.
Country A is a developing nation with a sound technology base. MDP is planning R&D collaboration with it for the next generation of weapons. It is not part of any security alliance and needs weapons for protection from a troublesome neighbour. It seeks a large acquisition on a long-term loan.
Country B is also a developing nation. Military strength is its priority, with the military budget often ingressing into allocations for human resources and infrastructure development. It is in security alliance with a superpower who has a large military base there and periodically allots it financial grants. It is a member of an economic bloc with which the government is currently negotiating a free trade agreement. It is not a signatory of NPT but possesses smaller nuclear weapons and delivery systems. It supports some guerrilla forces abroad. It has sought a smaller acquisition and is prepared to make some advance payment. It is currently negotiating arms purchases from another nation too.
Ajit discussed this case with his counterparts in the related departments. Therein, the significant economic benefits, employment generation and stronger diplomatic relations arising from this sale were highlighted. It was also emphasized that refusing the deal could result in country B purchasing weapons from some other supplier.
Ajit was aware that in arms sales, due diligence at each stage was pivotal to ensure conformity to national policy and international treaties.
(a) Discuss the options available to Ajit. Which option should he select and why? (b) How can Ajit balance nation’s economic and strategic interests with ethical considerations?
Approach · directive: “discuss / which / how”
What it asks · Evaluate Ajit's options between two arms buyers and show how economic and strategic gains can be reconciled with legal and ethical due diligence.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- (a) Discuss the options available to Ajit
- (a) Identify which option he should select and why
- (b) Explain how Ajit can balance the nation's economic and strategic interests with ethical considerations
Open with · Arms exports are instruments of foreign policy; every sale must pass a legal and moral test, not only a commercial one.
Cover
- Stakeholders: MDP and DWS, domestic industry and workers, countries A and B and their citizens, regional stability, international regimes.
- Country A: prospective R&D partner, defensive need, outside alliances; but a long-term loan carries financial risk.
- Country B: advance payment and trade leverage; but militarism over welfare, nuclear-armed outside the NPT, backs guerrillas abroad — risk of misuse.
- Options: sell to A; sell to B; split or defer; refuse both. Recommended: sell to A with end-use safeguards and structured financing.
- Why: fits national policy and technology partnership, supports legitimate self-defence, and avoids complicity in abuses or proliferation that B's profile signals.
- (b) Balance: export-control law (WMD Act, 2005; SCOMET), end-user certificates; MTCR (member since 2016) presumes denial for WMD-capable missile transfers.
- (b) 'If we don't sell, others will' is no ethical argument; reputational and security costs of irresponsible sales outlast short-term profit.
Close with · Responsible arms exports — guided by law, end-use checks and long-term strategic interest — serve both prosperity and principle.
Add value (verified)
- India's defence exports reached an all-time high of Rs 23,622 crore in FY 2024-25 (Ministry of Defence, April 2025). Make in India Powers Defence Growth — PIB backgrounder, Ministry of Defence, 3 April 2025 ↗“reaching a record ₹1.27 lakh crore in FY 2023-24, with defence exports rising to an all-time high of ₹23,622 crore in FY 2024-25.”
- India formally became the 35th member of the Missile Technology Control Regime on 27 June 2016. Report by the MTCR Chair: accession of India to the MTCR — Missile Technology Control Regime, 27 June 2016 ↗“PUBLISHED JUNE 27, 2016 · UPDATED JUNE 27, 2016 As all formal procedures for membership have now been finalised, the Chairman of the joint Netherlands-Luxembourg Chairmanship of the Missile Technology Control Regime, Ambassador Piet de Klerk (NL), in close consultation with the French MTCR Point of Contact, has announced today that the Republic of India now formally is the 35th member of the Regime.”
- MTCR Guidelines: particular restraint and a strong presumption to deny transfers of missiles judged to be intended for delivering weapons of mass destruction. Guidelines for Sensitive Missile-Relevant Transfers — Missile Technology Control Regime ↗“any missiles (whether or not in the Annex), if the Government judges, on the basis of all available, persuasive information, evaluated according to factors including those in paragraph 3, that they are intended to be used for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction, and there will be a strong presumption to deny such transfers.”
- Arms Trade Treaty, Article 7(3): if an overriding risk of the listed negative consequences remains after mitigation, the exporting State Party shall not authorise the export. Arms Trade Treaty (2013), Article 7: Export and Export Assessment — UN Office for Disarmament Affairs ↗“3. If, after conducting this assessment and considering available mitigating measures, the exporting State Party determines that there is an overriding risk of any of the negative consequences in paragraph 1, the exporting State Party shall not authorize the export.”
- Article 51(c) (Directive Principles): the State shall endeavour to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations. Constitution of India (as on 2023) — Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice ↗“51. Promotion of international peace and security.—The State shall endeavour to— (a) promote international peace and security; (b) maintain just and honourable relations between nations; (c) foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another;”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 368 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Arms exports are foreign policy conducted through commerce. India's defence exports reached a record ₹23,622 crore in 2024-25, but each sale carries the seller's name into another country's wars; Ajit's choice tests due diligence, not order size.
Stakeholders
- MDP and its workers; domestic industry; the peoples of A and B; A's neighbour and B's targets abroad; India's partners and export-control regimes.
(a) Options available to Ajit
| Option | For | Against |
|---|---|---|
| Sell to A | Defensive need, R&D partner | Long loan, delayed returns |
| Sell to B | Advance payment, FTA leverage | Misuse, proliferation, welfare cost |
| Defer or refuse both | Avoids risk | Loses partner and industry |
Which option, and why: sell to A, with safeguards
- Regimes India has joined: India became the MTCR's 35th member in 2016. Its guidelines set "a strong presumption to deny" transfers of missiles judged to be meant for delivering weapons of mass destruction, a real risk with B, a nuclear-armed state.
- A nuance: India itself refused to sign the NPT, so B's non-signature alone is no bar; the risk lies in long-range delivery systems, support to guerrillas and diversion.
- National law: the WMD Act, 2005 and the SCOMET list enforce these commitments.
- Ethics: A seeks protection from a troublesome neighbour, a legitimate self-defence purpose, and offers a durable R&D partnership; arming B risks complicity in harm abroad and in its people's lost welfare.
- Safeguards: an end-user certificate with a no-retransfer clause, structured financing with milestone deliveries, and post-delivery checks.
(b) Balancing economic and strategic interests with ethics
- Due diligence as process: a written checklist at every stage, covering the buyer's record, end use, regional stability and treaties, decided by a committee with reasons on record.
- Global benchmark: the UN Arms Trade Treaty (Article 7) bars a State Party from authorising an export that carries an "overriding risk" of serious harm even after mitigation.
- Constitutional compass: Article 51(c) asks the State to "foster respect for international law and treaty obligations".
- 'Others will sell': a commercial fact, not a moral licence; reckless sales return as sanctions and lost partners.
- Keep the relationship, limit the instrument: trade with B continues; ethics rules out the weapons, not the country.
Responsible exports, lawful, end-use verified and strategically patient, serve prosperity and principle together.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.