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DEFENCE & DEVELOPMENT
IT was a year when lots happened but little changed. Most issues and incidents that occurred through the year were either on predictable lines or a repeat of India’s contemporary defence history. There were less acquisitions of defence equipment and more delays, most notably that of the aircraft carrier from Russia. Deficiencies in defence preparedness even while the annual defence budget rose to almost Rs 2 lakh crore (Rs 1, 93,407crore to be precise) got highlighted through a leaked letter written by outgoing Army Chief General VK Singh. The same was true for the perennial shortcomings in the capabilities and delivery record of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that did, however, manage to successfully test an over 5,000-km-range Agni-V missile. The induction of this missile, however, remains some years away. Incidents of indiscipline, fratricides, suicides and corruption continued as did both officer and manpower shortage in the three services, especially in the Army. There was was a shortage of more than 32,431 soldiers — equivalent of one-and-a-half Divisions in the Army, which, however, is mainly on account of two new Divisions for the Eastern Command. There were ceasefire violations with the Pakistani Army along the Line of Control and patrolling violations by Chinese soldiers along the Line of Actual Control, a grim reminder of the long-festering territorial disputes with the two largest neighbours. Air woes The Indian Air Force continued to face trouble training its pilots. It does not have a basic trainer ever since the HPT-32 was grounded two years ago. It will take time before Switzerland supplies the Pilatus basic trainers. The IAF also had problems with the advance jet trainers with 25 per cent of the British supplied Hawks being grounded owing to problems with the supply of spares. Then there were the usual turf wars between the services, notably between the Army and the IAF for attack helicopters.
Considerable public discussion comprised the decades-old unresolved debate on issues such as the misgivings between the armed forces and the bureaucrats, the (non)appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff, the need for both transparency in the defence acquisition system and prevention of kickbacks and the need for a war memorial, to list only a few. In the neighbourhhood, China continued with its major defence modernisation programme with Beijing inducting its first ever aircraft carrier and also unveiling a stealth fighter. Reports from Pakistan, which is otherwise in serious internal strife, indicated that it was increasing its nuclear bomb arsenal. The year began with General VK Singh raking a major controversy, much of it providing some interesting lessons for study by civil-military relations theorists. General VK Singh, who finally retired in May, created history by taking the government to the Supreme Court for what he professed a 'correction' in his year of birth (1951 instead of 1950 as listed in official records) despite earlier rejections of his claim by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Supreme Court correctly declined to give relief to General VK Singh. Two other incidents, fraught with implications on civil-military relations, occurred. Reports of (a) troop movements in the direction of New Delhi without prior and proper intimation to the MoD, which caused an alarm among intelligence agencies (it turned out to be a routine military exercise) and (b) reports of the Army’s alleged misuse of telecommunication interceptor and surveillance equipment in the vicinity of the MoD at allegedly the behest of General VK Singh. The controversies these incidents generated were enough to cause some misgivings against the top Army leadership in the government. House divided Internal divisions and the politics of attacks on senior commanders came to the fore yet again with General Bikram Singh becoming a victim of malicious propaganda at both a personal (his daughter-in-law was accused of being a Pakistani) and professional level (he was accused of being involved in a fake encounter in Kashmir). Both allegations proved false and eventually General Bikram Singh went on to become the country's second Sikh Army officer as Army Chief. General Bikram Singh's quick reversal of some of the decisions taken by his predecessor, including rehabilitating a Lt General (expected to be the top contender for the top post) who was earlier facing an inquiry, raised eyebrows. While several major defence procurement agreements are expected in the year ahead, India's self-reliance efforts still remain a far cry. India tops the list of importers of defence equipment. Serious deficiencies in the capabilities of its military-industrial complex and the Defence Research and Development Organisation remain a major hurdle in India's efforts to be a power to reckon with. As a result, the Indian armed forces remains overly import dependent and therefore vulnerable. In the end, little changed.
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