HFCL is just one of the private firms eyeing defence projects. Between January 2001 and February 2016, the commerce ministry has granted 333 industrial licences to private firms for defence manufacturing, according to data on the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) website.

Domestic telecom equipment maker Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL) is known for two things: in the late 1990s, it made outrageous bids for telecom licences and later on it had its share of run-ins with the capital markets regulator for its suspected involvement in rigging share prices in a case dating back to 1999-2001.

But that’s the past and it’s makeover time as the company, with revenue of Rs.2,553 crore in 2014-15, has won government licences to design, develop and manufacture aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.