INDIA’S DEFENCE MODERNISATION TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY

Maj Gen Rajan Kochhar VSM

In recent times the dimensions of warfare have changed considerably and therefore defence policy perspectives have to take into account our responses to a short of a war situation as well as proxy wars. It therefore becomes imperative that arming and modernisation of forces with the right capability and technology cannot be delayed any longer. With this in view, Atma Nirbharta in defence will have to address two important areas i.e. maintenance of existing assets and acquisition of new generation weapon systems and platforms such as submarines, ships, torpedoes,  aircrafts, tanks, armour fighting vehicles and so on.

The country cannot have too many dependencies and indigenous production has to be the vision of India. A 300 billion US dollars opportunity in defence is knocking on our doors and we need to embrace this opportunity before it becomes too late. We need to therefore establish a “Production Eco System”, with ease of doing business the utmost concern. The keys areas which would need our emphasis would relate to design and development of technology and utilisation of all our national resources and capability in terms of the public sector, private sector, academia, industry and start ups.

The Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020(DAP-2020), is therefore an extremely positive step towards achieving greater self reliance for our defence manufacturing thereby promoting indigenous design and development, a faster procurement cycle, effective decision making, improving trial and testing procedures and a host of other me

The biggest issue that the procurement machinery faces is its decentralised nature, resulting in lack of coordination, diffused accountability and delay. It would be prudent to reflect upon structural changes necessary in the procurement set up to compliment the changes in the procedure. Also DAP 2000 has removed the HQ Integrated Defence Staff from the loop of acquisition. This will further dilute the involvement of the Services in the entire acquisition process.

There will also be a concern with regard to strategic partnerships and involvement of the private sector. Typical defence technologies are not patented nor does the DRDO/SHQ have full knowledge of designs of military equipment developed by other countries. Therefore to arrive at a final decision to acquire a weapon system would be a challenge.

Another issue is related to the indigenous content, which cannot be met for all types of equipment. There is more relevant in the case of critical aerospace items in which the local capability stands at a barest minimum and achieving even 25 percent IC will be a difficult task at the present pace of India’s defence industrial development. It may be noted that HAL depends upon foreign sources to the extent of 80 to 90 percent of input materials.

The introduction of Other than Capital Procurement Procedure which was earlier known as Capital Budget Revenue Procedure for procurement of items of repetitive nature will now entail delays as procurement in excess of Rs 2000 crores will be subjected to the approval of the Finance Minister/CCS.

It will also be very important to match the budgetary allocation with the integrated acquisition and capability development plan; otherwise the backlog of AONs will result in immense carry over liabilities and derail the entire time bound acquisition process.

India’s defence modernisation therefore is likely to undergo a paradigm change. The present trends have already started showing significant results. According to the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking 2020, India jumped 79 positions from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019. India would have to capture a place among the top 50 in the ranking to become a global player in manufacturing. Large foreign OEMs are now coming to India. Airbus has agreed to be a part of the Naval Utility Helicopter space along with Mahindra. The strategic partnership model will result in high end platforms being manufactured in the country.

There are several reasons why India lags in the manufacturing sector. India FDI inflows stood at 49 billion US dollars in 2019 as compared to China’s 140 billion. India’s bureaucratic setup however continues to mire foreign companies due to weak legal and regulatory systems. In addition land, labour and law and order largely fall under the State List, which foreign companies’ see as further hurdles as each state may use different systems of approval. India also continues to see a lack of investment in connectivity both in terms of physical and digital infrastructure.

The DAP 2020 as I visualise will help both the foreign OEMs as well as the domestic companies. However the way ahead will be extremely challenging as the words have to be translated into action on ground. As they say the proof of the pudding lies in its eating. The DAP will therefore have to be implemented the way it has been formulated. The Project Management Unit and the Technology Assessment Cells must deliver. The GSQR must be doable. The coordination of trial and testing within five to six agencies will be a challenge. The targets of indigenising 5000 items ( $25 billion)  by 2025 will be a tough ask. The adherence to timelines for the buy as well as make option which stipulate a period of two to three years will require concerted effort as presently most equipment is acquired after almost five to seven years gestation period. The private sector will have to invest in research and development. The products manufactured have to be world class in terms of quality, performance and tolerance.

It is important the Government and the industry take a collective responsibility for the promotion and growth of the defence manufacturing sector. Collaboration between the Centre and State Govt beyond party lines will hold the key to the success of defence manufacturing in India. The road ahead therefore, poses immense challenges to ensure that the DAP 2020 “walks the talk”. I am reminded of the famous stanza of a poem by Robert Frost “The woods are lovely, dark and deep/But I have promises to keep/and miles to go before I sleep/and miles to go before I sleep.”