Publication Filter

What Would Make the Multi-National Anti-Piracy Efforts Off Somalia More Effective?

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted unanimously on 30 November 2009 to extend for another 12 months a mandate for member countries to conduct anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, to include “entering the territorial waters and undertake all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia”. Earlier the same month during a session on “Piracy and the situation in Somalia”, the UNSC members criticised the practice of paying ransom and stated that the coordinated fight by navies from several countries had failed to deter the pirates.

Looking Ahead

If India indeed considers itself to be a rising power, it cannot remain a passive in the face of instability all around it.

Ramesh Phadke
January 12, 2010
IDSA Comments

Arms Acquisition Competitiveness: Relevant International Experiences

Even though the Indian government has begun to encourage participation of private sector in defence systems production, it is not technologically competitive in the global market. The Chinese are giving importance to two factors: first, the civilian high technology market should increase sophisticated dual-use products that are readily available to the military. Developments of new C4ISR capabilities in the military have been a consequent result of improvements in the telecommunications sector.

Threats Emanating From Weapons of Mass Destruction

Introduction The safety and security of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), commonly, characterized as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in the current international security environment has become a dominant… Continue reading Threats Emanating From Weapons of Mass Destruction

Arvind Kumar
January-March 2010
CBW Magazine

Soldier in War – Positive Perspective

A soldier may not bother about the causes of hardship, but one always cares for his close comrades, their safety and welfare and most importantly, their opinion of him as a friend and as a man

K C Dixit
January 08, 2010
IDSA Comments

Turbulence Rocks Islamic Republic

Although Iran’s regime is under no immediate danger of being toppled, it however faces a growing number of internal and external threats which will necessitate prudent redressing.

Vote of Thanks at the National Seminar on Defence Acquisition

Today, we are facing a serious challenge in trying to cope up with a rising China and in that effort we have very many disadvantages. The Chinese have a developed infrastructure on their side which we have failed to develop on our side. The Chinese have a much higher GDP, have a better developed, modernized military, and perhaps higher level of technology. Under these circumstances we have got to look for factors in our favour in the international situation which we could exploit in order to cope up with the Chinese challenge. Yes, there are.

Complex Project Management: An Appropriate Monitoring/Evaluation / Course Correction Methodology

Avoid persecution of the responsible parties if there are overruns, otherwise in future the managers will be reluctant to give any information for fear that it will be held against them. Project control should be seen as a tool to assist managers reach their objectives, not as a weapon of attack.

Challenges of Capability definition and Cost Efficient QR Formulation

Services need to be very clear about their future requirements for the next 10 to 15 years based on an in depth analysis of the emerging threats and evolving technologies. While it is always desirable to seek extra capability that developed nations may be planning to acquire, but it must be kept in mind that finally the resources are limited and an increase in SQR from 90% to 95% would result in cost of equipment increasing two to three times. The cost of the technology exponentially rises with the increase in level of QRs.

Commercial Evaluation Challenges – The Critical Task of Best and Final Commercial Offer Format – An Optimal Decision Matrix

To prevent diffusion of responsibility, dedicated teams should be in place for the entire duration of a project, especially for non-R&D projects. The team should be mandated to stick to sanctioned time and cost but sufficiently empowered to make minor alterations in the scope. The team may be asked to sign a performance and integrity related MoU and assured of necessary support. This should include assured funding support because old projects may sometimes gasp for funding as new priorities take over with change of key decision makers.