A year of ups and downs in national security (English version) Amar Ujala 15 Aug 2020
https://www.amarujala.com/columns/opinion/independence-day-on-the-way-to-becoming-a-big-military-force?src=top-lead
A year of ups and downs in national security 15 Aug 2020
The past one year has witnessed a few major reforms in management of defence as well as the Chinese standoff. The first announcement on reforms was made by the Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day last year. He fulfilled a long-awaited demand in reforming management of defence when he approved the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). General Bipin Rawat took over as the CDS on 01 Jan this year. This led to the creation of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) within the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
It is still early days, but the positives of the creation of this appointment are visible. The armed forces are more involved in decision making on military matters. They are moving towards creation of theatre commands, an essential for future warfare. Their involvement in determining their capabilities and management of the defence budget has witnessed a change. They have finally been able to obtain a say in the MoD. There are still shortcomings but with passage of time these would be overcome.
India has been the second largest importer of military equipment globally. With the spreading pandemic, nation under lockdown, the Prime Minister announced another set of reforms in defence. He advocated to make the country self-reliant in defence manufacturing or ‘Atmanirbhar.’ This is essential as no nation can boast of being a military power if its armed forces are dependent on imported hardware.
The first action taken under this step was to corporatize the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), a recommendation pending for ages. Every committee formed to assess management of defence had recommended this. Shortfalls and poor quality in equipment and ammunition manufactured by the OFB are legendary. Every report of the parliamentary committee and CAG have stated this. Despite criticism there has been no change in the work culture or increased productivity in these ‘white elephants’ of the government.
While this step has been welcomed by the private sector and the armed forces, as it would open the field for others to enter, reduce concessions given to the OFB and limit its stranglehold on the armed forces, it has been objected to by the unions, who have threatened to proceed on a nationwide strike from Oct this year. The decision to launch a strike indicates that the interests of the unions is selfish, coming at a time when India faces threats along its western and northern borders. Hopefully, the government will not bend in its decision.
The next major announcement has been to release a list of items (110) whose imports would be stopped in the coming years, spread from Dec this year to 2024, enabling production to be made locally. Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh gave the intention behind this list as, ‘to apprise the Indian defence industry of the anticipated requirements of the armed forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.’
The list has been prepared by the DMA in consultation with service HQs. The action is a carry forward from the announcement made in 2014 by the Prime Minister when he stressed on his policy of pushing ‘make in India’, and ‘Atmanirbhar.’ The list includes rifles, artillery guns, radar and sonar systems, transport aircraft, light combat helicopters and even space satellites. These are fields where Indian companies have gained considerable expertise in recent years.
This move has been welcomed by the defence industry which has witnessed a major jump in their share values. It will also lead to an enhancement in the number of MSMEs which provide support to major defence manufacturers. It may open doors for Indian IT companies to join in enhancing technology levels within the country.
There were major inductions into the armed forces in the current year. The latest to be inducted were the Rafale aircraft. Prior to them were artillery guns including the M 777, Dhanush and Vajra, Chinook, Apache helicopter gunships, rifles and much more. These boosted capabilities of the forces.
Recent adverse incidents also include intrusions by China in Ladakh, where the standoff continues at multiple locations. Matching force levels are deployed while talks to resolve the crisis are ongoing. Announcements made by service HQs indicate that it is unlikely to end soon and the army is preparing for a long haul including deploying its forces through the winters. Procurement of equipment to sustain the forces in winters and enhancing administrative stores for the region would impact the already low defence budget.
The defence budget this year was the lowest in percentage since the 1962 war. It was not even enough to cater for committed liabilities for earlier procurements. The forces were compelled to restructure their modernization plans. With the Chinese intrusion, the government was forced to act and enhance defence expenditure at a time when the nation was faced its worst economic slowdown in decades. This itself is poor planning and misinterpretation of threats to the country. Evidently, the assessment of national threats was not correctly done at the appropriate level.
The Chinese intrusion was due to misjudgement of intentions from available intelligence. This was based on the political belief that diplomacy and a coupled economy would reduce chances of a two-front war. It was proved wrong. The clash at Galwan, which led to the loss of lives of twenty Indian soldiers and many more Chinese resulted in lowering Indo-China relations to their lowest ebb.
J and K has so far been a positive story. The security forces have gained the upper hand once again, pushing terrorists on the backfoot. Success in operations has been mainly due to human intelligence which indicates that the local public desires peace and development. A strong anti-infiltration posture and vibrant response to ceasefire violations has placed Pak on the defensive. Local recruitment is down and so are incidents of stone throwing. A positive for the moment, however, one incident can reverse the trend.
The year has been a mix as far as national security and the armed forces are concerned. There have been positives as well as negatives. Hopefully, the Chinese standoff would end with dialogue, Kashmir would remain calm and Pakistan kept on the defensive. Simultaneously, Indian armed forces reliance on foreign technology would reduce and the domestic defence industry will rise to the occasion. The coming year would judge.
About the Author
Maj Gen Harsha Kakkar
Retired Major General Indian Army