Defence Note
New Delhi, 15 July 2014
2014-15Defence
Allocations
DEFICIENT IN THREAT
PERCEPTION
By Col (Dr) PK Vasudeva (Retd)
Prime Minister Modi has given an impetus to defence whereby
budgetary allocations would increase by 12.5 per cent in 2014-15, compared to
the previous year as highlighted by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the
Union Budget.
Notably, the allotments were raised to Rs.2.29 lakh crore
($38.35 billion), Rs 50 billion more than the previous UPA Government in the
interim budget earlier this year. Whereby, capital budget have gone up from Rs
89,588 crores to Rs 94,588 crores while the revenue budget remains at Rs
1,34,412 crore. The army will get Rs
20,665 crore for modernisation; navy Rs 22,312 crore and air force Rs 31,818
crore for new equipment.
This is not all. Importantly, the budget also underscored
the Prime Minister’s intention to open the domestic weapons industry to foreign
investment to help rebuild the military and narrow the gap with China. Wherein,
the composite cap of foreign exchange has been raised from 26 to 49 per cent
with full Indian management and control through the FIPB route.
This entails giving the domestic manufactures a greater role
in producing modern equipment with foreign help as the country’s capacities are
still at a nascent stage. Presently, companies controlled by foreign
Governments and its private sector cater to India’s requirements at a
considerable outflow of foreign exchange.
Alongside, there is a massive 60 per cent increase in
funding to the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), from Rs
5,985 crore to Rs 9,298 crore, the largest jump in DRDO’s history. This takes
R&D in to Rs 15,283 crore, almost 7 per cent of the Rs 2,29,000
crore-defence budget, as pleaded by the Organisation.
Another beneficiary is a new project for building a “defence
rail network” in the border areas under which meter gauge lines would be
upgraded to broad gauge at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore to facilitate quick
movement of heavy equipment from cantonments located in the interiors to border
areas.
Pertinently, China
has built massive infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which
allows it to swiftly mobilize troops and equipment thereby outnumbering Indian
forces by 3:1 ratio there.
To ensure speedy readdressal, Rs 30,000 crore has been
earmarked towards the artillery modernization plan for 145 ultra-light
howitzers, 1,580 towed guns, 814 mounted guns, 100 tracked self-propelled guns,
180-wheeled self-propelled guns etc. Given that the country has not inducted a
single 155mm artillery gun since the Bofors scandal of the mid-1980s.
Clearly, the howitzer project, among others, is meant to
equip the new XVII Mountain Strike Corps (90,000 troops) being raised to gain
“quick reaction force capabilities.” against China.
Moreover, capital allocation for the Ordnance Factory Board
(OFB), used for modernising the Defence Ministry’s network of 41 factories which
manufacture arms, ammunition and equipment for the military has been doubled,
from Rs 530 crore to Rs 1,207 crore.
Also on the anvil are critical arms and equipment urgently required
by the Defence Forces: Almost $20 billion to acquire 126 medium multi-role
combat (MMRCA) aircrafts. The French Rafael jet was selected but the project is
yet to be inked. The IAF is down to just 34 fighter squadrons
Notably, over Rs 50,000-crore is needed for acquisition of
six new-generation stealth submarines, with both land-attack missile
capabilities and air-independent propulsion (AIP). Alas, Project-75 was
approved in November 2007 but global tender are yet to be issued. The Navy is
down to just 9 operational diesel-electric submarines at present, with another
four stuck in long refits.
Furthermore, over Rs 3,000-crore is required for acquisition
of 197 new light-utility helicopters for the IAF and Army. True, the project was
scrapped in December 2007 but 440 such helicopters are needed to replace the virtually
obsolete Cheetah/Chetak fleets.
Importantly, Ex Servicemen have reason to be happy with
their demand for ‘one rank one pension’ (OROP) being met. Namely, Rs 1000 crore
has been earmarked to implement this policy which would address “pension
disparities”, wherein ex-servicemen would be granted equal pension to
pensioners of the same rank and equal length of service, irrespective of their
date of retirement. Further, any future enhancement in pension would be
automatically passed on to old pensioners.
However, some apprehensions have arisen over information
permeating out of South Block for finalising implementation orders. It is learnt that the CGDA and the PCDA are
trying to give a different definition to OROP against the backdrop of the
bureaucracy being seen as antagonistic towards veterans. Servicemen have their
fingers crossed that babudom does not
to hijack the grant of OROP.
Another beneficiary of this year’s Budget is the tri-service
“joint staff’ headquarters which has been allocated Rs 1,029 crore up from Rs
829 crore. Not a few defence analysts wonder whether this would be followed by
appointment of a tri-service (CDS) Chief of the Defence Staff/Permanent Chairman
of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as recommended by the Kargil and Naresh
Chandra Committees respectively.
In sum, notwithstanding the boost in
defence spending, India's
military budget is still less than a third of China's $145 billion expenditure
last year as estimated by a Pentagon report to the US Congress.
As it stands, the present defence expenditure of 1.78 per
cent of the GDP is just not sufficient for modernisation of acutely deficient
defence forces when the threat perception from our adversaries is looming
large. This should be raised to at least 3 per cent of the GDP as recommended
by the Parliamentary Committee on Defence. Mr Jaitley will you heed? ----- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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