While India’s latest defence budget has no doubt catered for a sizeable capital component, it may be prudent to reduce costs by switching to more affordable programmes.

• Ramesh Phadke
• May 07, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Unless the SCOMET list includes munitions items, and is harmonised with the Wassanaar Agreement list, India will be unable to get the full benefits of international commerce in defence goods.

• G. Balachandran
• May 04, 2010
• Policy Brief

Adequacy or inadequacy of defence allocation largely lies in the manner it is spent keeping in view the defence requirements for meeting operational and strategic goals and to have the needed defence preparedness to deal with threats.

• Narinder Gupta
• March 18, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Given that allocations for revenue expenditure are likely to become lesser in coming years, defence managers need to initiate immediate measures to control the rising revenue expenditure.

• Arvind Kadyan
• March 03, 2010
• IDSA Comments

If the Finance Ministry’s emphasis on fiscal prudence and inclusive growth has resulted in a smaller increase in the latest defence budget, the Report of the Thirteenth Finance Commission does not paint a very optimistic scenario for India’s future defence spending.

• Laxman Kumar Behera
• March 03, 2010
• IDSA Comments

While Mahindra’s foray into defence production and the acquisition of foreign companies demonstrates the private sector’s initiative, the government needs to introduce further reforms to promote the role of private companies in Indian defence industry.

• Laxman Kumar Behera
• December 22, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The BRO could consider constituting a high level monitoring committee both at headquarters and on site to co-ordinate with the contractor, the consultant and other agencies to sort out issues that may have the potential to cause delay.

• Narinder Gupta
• December 14, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The effectiveness of the procurement process needs to be viewed in context of the operational and structural readiness of the armed forces. If the existing framework proves to be weak and unable to deliver required levels of military preparedness, the framework may have to be re-laid for its effectiveness and deliverability.

• Harinder Singh
• December 03, 2009
• IDSA Comments

With the growth of the public sector in Defence Production a large number of industrial units in the Private Sector has also grown with varied scales of operation in areas like outsourcing of raw materials, components, sub-systems, assemblies and sub-assemblies.

• Narinder Gupta
• November 24, 2009
• IDSA Comments

Even as the new amendments incentivise domestic companies to enter defence production, the government has made it clear that it wants a competitive environment in defence industry.

• Laxman Kumar Behera
• November 10, 2009
• IDSA Comments

If India does not modernize in an evenly spread out manner, it will be faced either with the prospect of its armed forces not being prepared, or rushing to make purchases amidst crises, or creating needless hysteria when frenzied modernization occurs.

• Raj Shukla
• November 10, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The orientation of the existing administrative set up in Service Headquarters and in departments under the Ministry of Defence is to plan for the utilization of defence budget allocation. They are not in a position to pay attention to the aspect of defence receipts.

• Arvind Kadyan
• November 05, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The present global economic crisis has slowed down the growth of the Indian economy, affecting among others, the fiscal situation and the revenue mobilisation potential of the central government. Defence being one of the largest recipients of central government expenditure, the present crisis casts a doubt on the adequacy of future resources. This commentary discusses some major options that India’s Ministry of Defence needs to consider in order to withstand the likely resource constraints in the coming years.

• Laxman Kumar Behera
• May 26, 2009
• IDSA Comments

In its interim budget for 2009-10 the Union Government has allocated Rs. 1,41,703 crores for the country’ Defence Services that include three Armed Forces (i.e., the Army, the Navy and the Air Force), and other Departments, primarily Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Defence Ordnance Factories. This is apart from Rs. 24,960 crores which have been earmarked to defray civil expenditures of Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its affiliated organisations, including, the Coast Guard, and for defence pension (Rs. 21,790 crores).

• Laxman Kumar Behera
• February 18, 2009
• IDSA Comments

Every year as India approaches the Budget session of Parliament, there are debates in various forums about the adequacy of Budget allocation to meet the modernization plan of the Services considering the threat perceptions/scenario. Due to the economic slowdown world-wide which is likely to affect the revenue collection of the national exchequer this year, the Government may face difficulty in meeting the increased demand from the Defence Forces. Further, we should not forget that electoral compulsions are also likely to play an important role in the coming budget.

• Arvind Kadyan
• January 21, 2009
• IDSA Comments

It has been reported that Russia has demanded US $3.5 billion from India for the aircraft carrier, Gorshkov, which is currently undergoing repairs. This is the second time that Russia has sought a price increase from the original contracted amount of $1.5 billion. Given the hike in its price and the further delay in the date of delivery, the deal has naturally attracted comment, with some people even questioning the very wisdom of having gone for the ship.

• N. Neihsial
• November 21, 2008
• IDSA Comments

What does it take to be ‘a vibrant industry’ or more specifically ‘vibrant defence industry’? Broadly, it would demand that the industry should be innovative in terms of processes and products, its base and structure should have large dimensions horizontally, vertically, and technologically to be responsive enough to keep pace with the changing strategic expectations of the nation. Defence exports and imports should be a matter of deliberate political or commercial policy choices and not a result of security compulsions.

• N. Neihsial
• October 08, 2008
• IDSA Comments

The above question arises in the context of publicly known government plans of arms procurement amounting to over $64 billion1 as part of the modernisation programme of the armed forces. The majority of these acquisitions will obviously be from abroad and will be concluded in the next five years or more.

• N. Neihsial
• August 22, 2008
• IDSA Comments

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently issued a new set of rules for the procurement of arms, ammunition and other defence related products and services. The rule book, known as Defence Procurement Procedure 2008 (DPP 2008), has revised, among others, the offset policy that was first promulgated in 2005 and subsequently revised in 2006. The revised offset policy which retains the earlier minimum 30 per cent offset requirements in defence imports of Rs. 300 crore or more has added a provision of offset banking, besides enlisting a number of categories of defence products.

• Laxman Kumar Behera
• August 19, 2008
• IDSA Comments

Ordnance Factories constitute a major segment of India’s defence industrial set- up, whose other constituents are the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and varied Service-specific workshops, repair and maintenance establishments. The gross production of ordnance factories during the year 2005-06 was Rs. 8811.59 crores. Total sales including issues to armed forces and other agencies and civil trade in the same year was Rs. 6891.68 crores. This constitutes approximately 40 per cent of domestic supplies to the armed forces.

• N. Neihsial
• July 17, 2008
• IDSA Comments