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As per an article, Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai, is manufacturing six Scorpene submarines under technology transfer from Naval Group of France under a 2005 contract.

I don't understand the term 'technology transfer' mentioned above. Should I visualise it by using the analogy of software licenses, which have a validity of certain time period?
Does India's manufacturing/technological capabilities improve in any way by such 'technology transfers'?

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  • It's not really like a license, unless it includes a grant of patents; tech transfer is usually about ensuring the receiving entity can make more of the things. So not just these six submarines, but potentially more of their own design in the future. – pjc50 Mar 18 at 17:00
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The French company would train the Mumbai dockyard in the manufacture of some submarine components and to assemble the submarines. Other components might still come from France.

What this means is that the Indian workers get hands-on training in building a submarine according to French plans. If the French submarine industry is more advanced than the Indian one, or even if it is roughly as advanced but doing things differently, that means the skills of the Indian workers and designers increases. The next time the Indians build a domestic submarine, their designers can compare their own ideas with the French ideas. The result is a better submarine.

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