Major General Mrinal Suman (Gfiles Jul 2009)
Indian democracy has proved itself yet again. A new government has been put in place with comfortable working majority to pursue progressive policies without any encumbrance. Agenda for the new government relating to the Indian defence forces needs diligent consideration and dynamic implementation. Some of the critical issues that have a profound effect on the operational efficacy of the services have been discussed here. To many it may appear to be a wish list. But unless one sets objectives one cannot strive to achieve them.
Modernisation of the Armed Forces
It is a well accepted fact that the modernisation of the Indian armed forces is lagging behind by 10 years with critical gaps in equipment profile causing grave concern. Whereas successive governments have been making adequate funds available for the procurement of new equipment; structural, procedural and policy adequacies have been stalling their full utilisation. Following steps will help:-
· Delegation of Technical Evaluation. Currently, Acquisition Wing under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) handles the complete gamut of procurement activities. For every decision, the services have to refer cases to MoD, resulting in avoidable delays. As MoD has little to contribute to technical appraisal of competing equipment, all functions from the issuance of tender documents to selection of technically acceptable equipment should be transferred to Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff. However, commercial evaluation and price negotiation with the successful bidder should continue to be undertaken by MoD as at present.
· Reforms in Procurement Procedure. All procurements are required to be carried out as per the approved 15-Year Long Term Integrated Procurement Plan and 5-Year Services Capital Acquisition Plan (SCAP). SCAP for the period 2002-2007 had not been approved till 2007, resulting in a massive 43 per cent of the capital budget being expended on unplanned items in 2005-06. All procurement plans must be finalised well in advance and comprehensive sanctions issued at the outset, thereby obviating need for repeated references for piecemeal approvals. Matrix system should be introduced to select equipment that provides best performance parameters commensurate with its cost. While working out cost, life cycle costs should be considered rather than initial procurement costs which can turn out to be highly misleading in the long run.
· Offset Policy Issues. Major changes are required in the Indian offset policy. Offset threshold should be reduced to 100 crore rupees from 300 crores at present (the British demand offsets for all contracts over 70 crore rupees). Similarly, offset value should be raised from the meager 30 percent to 100 percent, as has been accepted the world over to be a fair level. To promote Indian defence industry, transfer of technology should be accepted against offsets.
· Foreign Direct Investment Issues. Although the defence industry was opened to the private sector in 2001 with a cap of 26 percent on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the response has been decidedly lukewarm. Prospective foreign investors find the policy to be highly dissuasive - they have no significant control, strict capacity/product constraints, no purchase guarantee and no open access to other markets (including exports). It is time to raise FDI cap to 49 percent and revisit the policy to rationalise other incongruent provisions.
· Carrying Forward of Defence Budget. Defence procurement cycles span three to five years. The current system of unexpended defence budget getting surrendered is a big impediment to long term planning and allocation of resources. MoD should be allowed to carry forward unexpended funds. Such a provision will also curb the current tendency of procuring unplanned items near the end of a financial year just to spend all allotted funds.
· Integration of the Private Sector. Both the public and the private sectors are national assets. Whereas the public sector possesses extensive infra-structure and trained manpower, the private sector excels in technology, financial management and marketing. Therefore, entry of the private sector in defence industry must be facilitated. Both the sectors should be treated at par. The Department of Defence Production in MoD should be replaced by the Department of Defence Industry.
Promotion of Jointness
The contemporary world-wide Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) pre-supposes total tri-service integration in thought and execution. In RMA-oriented warfare, joint operations constitute the key to battlefield dominance and military superiority. Lack of jointmanship amongst the three services and the current mindset of segregated service-wise operations have been the bane of Indian defence preparedness.
All military commanders acknowledge criticality of jointmanship to national security. They support it when it comes to platitudes but fight every step towards jointmanship fiercely on specious grounds. This dichotomy is due to the fact that the services guard their turf with relentless fanaticism and every jointmanship proposal has to result in a reduction of domain of each service to prevent duplication/triplication. Conservation of resources and effort is one of the primary objectives of jointmanship.
As the services continue to quibble, the Government must intervene forcefully. Although decision by consensus is always the most preferred option as it creates synergy in an organisation and facilitates smooth implementation, there are times in the life of every nation when hard decisions are required to be taken by the leadership. Delay or wavering can cause irreparable damage to national security interests. Should the persuasive approach fail to yield the desired consensus, the Government should enforce jointmanship through decree. National interests cannot be permitted to be held hostage to the intransigence of a few dissenting military leaders.
Kargil Committee Report has suggested a number of measures. They must be carried out without delay or dilution. Foremost among its recommendations that needs immediate implementation is the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff. Additionally, Defence Intelligence Agency needs to be empowered and made more effective.
Outsourcing of Non-Core Functions
Outsourcing in its broadest sense refers to contracting out to external agencies certain services and tasks which were earlier performed with internal resources. Manpower ceilings, limited defence budgets and advent of increasingly complex military hardware are forcing the militaries the world over to outsource non-core functions. If implemented intelligently, outsourcing can act as a force multiplier by freeing additional manpower for operational tasks.
Soldiers are trained to fight an adversary and must concentrate on their primary function. They should not be wasted on routine administrative functions, for which civilian service providers are better equipped and are more cost effective. For example, organisations like the Military Engineering Service have outlived their utility and must be disbanded. Building construction and maintenance functions can be fruitfully outsourced.
Organisational Reforms
With a view to inject professionalism and to promote jointness in MoD, at least half the appointments at Director, Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary levels should be held by service officers. There is no reason that the Chief Administrative Officer of MoD be an IAS officer. Similarly, it is incongruous to have bureaucrats man all posts in the Department of Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare.
Urgent reforms are required in the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO). It should be made accountable for its performance through periodic external audits. As mandated, DRDO should focus only on strategic, complex and security sensitive systems. It must not waste the defence budget on unrelated activities.
On an average, 40,000 personnel are discharged from the services every year. As recommended by SCPC, close to 12,000 retiring servicemen can be laterally shifted into various civilian cadres under MoD every year. This measure will save considerable pension bill and provide employment to needy soldiers who retire in the prime of their lives as well.
Most Importantly
With the release of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (SCPC) report, the services have come to believe that they are being downgraded and marginalised in a deliberate and systematic manner. It does not augur well for a country to have demoralised soldiers. Creeping despondency and growing discontentment must be arrested immediately. It is time their grievances are redressed and their confidence in the fairness of the Government restored.
Some of the pressing issues are as follows:-
· A separate standing pay commission should be constituted for the services, as is done in many countries. All issues relating to pay and allowances of the services should be referred to the commission.
· Earlier status of Lieutenant General vis-à-vis Director General of Police should be restored.
· Rank based pension should be sanctioned to help retired soldiers improve their quality of life and live their old age in dignity.
· Shortage of officers should be overcome by making Short Service Commission attractive through assured second career by lateral induction, as recommended by SCPC.
Although five years is too short a period in the life of a nation, all matters pertaining to defence have a long gestation period and take time to fructify. Therefore, it is essential that the new government gets going at the earliest without getting bogged down in bureaucratic quagmire.
Indian democracy has proved itself yet again. A new government has been put in place with comfortable working majority to pursue progressive policies without any encumbrance. Agenda for the new government relating to the Indian defence forces needs diligent consideration and dynamic implementation. Some of the critical issues that have a profound effect on the operational efficacy of the services have been discussed here. To many it may appear to be a wish list. But unless one sets objectives one cannot strive to achieve them.
Modernisation of the Armed Forces
It is a well accepted fact that the modernisation of the Indian armed forces is lagging behind by 10 years with critical gaps in equipment profile causing grave concern. Whereas successive governments have been making adequate funds available for the procurement of new equipment; structural, procedural and policy adequacies have been stalling their full utilisation. Following steps will help:-
· Delegation of Technical Evaluation. Currently, Acquisition Wing under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) handles the complete gamut of procurement activities. For every decision, the services have to refer cases to MoD, resulting in avoidable delays. As MoD has little to contribute to technical appraisal of competing equipment, all functions from the issuance of tender documents to selection of technically acceptable equipment should be transferred to Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff. However, commercial evaluation and price negotiation with the successful bidder should continue to be undertaken by MoD as at present.
· Reforms in Procurement Procedure. All procurements are required to be carried out as per the approved 15-Year Long Term Integrated Procurement Plan and 5-Year Services Capital Acquisition Plan (SCAP). SCAP for the period 2002-2007 had not been approved till 2007, resulting in a massive 43 per cent of the capital budget being expended on unplanned items in 2005-06. All procurement plans must be finalised well in advance and comprehensive sanctions issued at the outset, thereby obviating need for repeated references for piecemeal approvals. Matrix system should be introduced to select equipment that provides best performance parameters commensurate with its cost. While working out cost, life cycle costs should be considered rather than initial procurement costs which can turn out to be highly misleading in the long run.
· Offset Policy Issues. Major changes are required in the Indian offset policy. Offset threshold should be reduced to 100 crore rupees from 300 crores at present (the British demand offsets for all contracts over 70 crore rupees). Similarly, offset value should be raised from the meager 30 percent to 100 percent, as has been accepted the world over to be a fair level. To promote Indian defence industry, transfer of technology should be accepted against offsets.
· Foreign Direct Investment Issues. Although the defence industry was opened to the private sector in 2001 with a cap of 26 percent on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the response has been decidedly lukewarm. Prospective foreign investors find the policy to be highly dissuasive - they have no significant control, strict capacity/product constraints, no purchase guarantee and no open access to other markets (including exports). It is time to raise FDI cap to 49 percent and revisit the policy to rationalise other incongruent provisions.
· Carrying Forward of Defence Budget. Defence procurement cycles span three to five years. The current system of unexpended defence budget getting surrendered is a big impediment to long term planning and allocation of resources. MoD should be allowed to carry forward unexpended funds. Such a provision will also curb the current tendency of procuring unplanned items near the end of a financial year just to spend all allotted funds.
· Integration of the Private Sector. Both the public and the private sectors are national assets. Whereas the public sector possesses extensive infra-structure and trained manpower, the private sector excels in technology, financial management and marketing. Therefore, entry of the private sector in defence industry must be facilitated. Both the sectors should be treated at par. The Department of Defence Production in MoD should be replaced by the Department of Defence Industry.
Promotion of Jointness
The contemporary world-wide Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) pre-supposes total tri-service integration in thought and execution. In RMA-oriented warfare, joint operations constitute the key to battlefield dominance and military superiority. Lack of jointmanship amongst the three services and the current mindset of segregated service-wise operations have been the bane of Indian defence preparedness.
All military commanders acknowledge criticality of jointmanship to national security. They support it when it comes to platitudes but fight every step towards jointmanship fiercely on specious grounds. This dichotomy is due to the fact that the services guard their turf with relentless fanaticism and every jointmanship proposal has to result in a reduction of domain of each service to prevent duplication/triplication. Conservation of resources and effort is one of the primary objectives of jointmanship.
As the services continue to quibble, the Government must intervene forcefully. Although decision by consensus is always the most preferred option as it creates synergy in an organisation and facilitates smooth implementation, there are times in the life of every nation when hard decisions are required to be taken by the leadership. Delay or wavering can cause irreparable damage to national security interests. Should the persuasive approach fail to yield the desired consensus, the Government should enforce jointmanship through decree. National interests cannot be permitted to be held hostage to the intransigence of a few dissenting military leaders.
Kargil Committee Report has suggested a number of measures. They must be carried out without delay or dilution. Foremost among its recommendations that needs immediate implementation is the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff. Additionally, Defence Intelligence Agency needs to be empowered and made more effective.
Outsourcing of Non-Core Functions
Outsourcing in its broadest sense refers to contracting out to external agencies certain services and tasks which were earlier performed with internal resources. Manpower ceilings, limited defence budgets and advent of increasingly complex military hardware are forcing the militaries the world over to outsource non-core functions. If implemented intelligently, outsourcing can act as a force multiplier by freeing additional manpower for operational tasks.
Soldiers are trained to fight an adversary and must concentrate on their primary function. They should not be wasted on routine administrative functions, for which civilian service providers are better equipped and are more cost effective. For example, organisations like the Military Engineering Service have outlived their utility and must be disbanded. Building construction and maintenance functions can be fruitfully outsourced.
Organisational Reforms
With a view to inject professionalism and to promote jointness in MoD, at least half the appointments at Director, Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary levels should be held by service officers. There is no reason that the Chief Administrative Officer of MoD be an IAS officer. Similarly, it is incongruous to have bureaucrats man all posts in the Department of Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare.
Urgent reforms are required in the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO). It should be made accountable for its performance through periodic external audits. As mandated, DRDO should focus only on strategic, complex and security sensitive systems. It must not waste the defence budget on unrelated activities.
On an average, 40,000 personnel are discharged from the services every year. As recommended by SCPC, close to 12,000 retiring servicemen can be laterally shifted into various civilian cadres under MoD every year. This measure will save considerable pension bill and provide employment to needy soldiers who retire in the prime of their lives as well.
Most Importantly
With the release of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (SCPC) report, the services have come to believe that they are being downgraded and marginalised in a deliberate and systematic manner. It does not augur well for a country to have demoralised soldiers. Creeping despondency and growing discontentment must be arrested immediately. It is time their grievances are redressed and their confidence in the fairness of the Government restored.
Some of the pressing issues are as follows:-
· A separate standing pay commission should be constituted for the services, as is done in many countries. All issues relating to pay and allowances of the services should be referred to the commission.
· Earlier status of Lieutenant General vis-à-vis Director General of Police should be restored.
· Rank based pension should be sanctioned to help retired soldiers improve their quality of life and live their old age in dignity.
· Shortage of officers should be overcome by making Short Service Commission attractive through assured second career by lateral induction, as recommended by SCPC.
Although five years is too short a period in the life of a nation, all matters pertaining to defence have a long gestation period and take time to fructify. Therefore, it is essential that the new government gets going at the earliest without getting bogged down in bureaucratic quagmire.
No comments:
Post a Comment