If Plan Z were completed and India became a dominion before war, could a Royal Indian Navy receive battleships to spread the cost of the imperial battle fleet?
Short answerPotentially, but only after years of building officers, crews, dockyard capacity, and experience with cruisers, destroyers, and sloops; Australia and perhaps New Zealand or Canada would probably receive capital ships first.
NotesA battleship transfer would come at the end of an institutional development path, rather than beginning with a ship and its keys. India would need to rebuild its human and shore infrastructure, train officers and crews, and gain experience with smaller warships before operating a capital ship. In a long peace extending into the 1950s, the likely progression runs from cruisers to destroyers and then battleships. The imperial force would remain intermixed during that development.