Indian Army

You are here

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Whatsapp
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • Revenue Procurement Practices in the Indian Army

    Revenue Procurement Practices in the Indian Army

    This monograph examines some aspects of the Indian Army’s revenue procurement practices. It discusses the peculiarities of these practices in the Indian defence and security setup, relating it to the contemporary risk scenario. This study draws attention to the corresponding trends in the private or commercial sector.

    2014

    Permanent Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee: Should the appointment be delayed further?

    Though the general elections are due this year, the need of the hour is to build a political consensus on the issue without further delay. It will be to the credit of the government if it is able to generate political consensus and appoint a Permanent Chairman CoSC or CDS.

    January 02, 2014

    Delegation of Powers to the Armed Forces in a Time Warp

    MoD, according to news reports, has instructed the Army HQ that its permission will need to be taken before changing the structure or role of the units in future. This could easily be interpreted to mean that there are no existing instructions on such vital issues. But such an impression would be wrong.

    December 26, 2013

    Chief of Defence Staff must be Appointed Immediately

    All major democracies have opted for the CDS and India cannot ignore it any further. In the prevailing battlefield milieu of joint operations, combined operations and even coalition operations, modern armed forces cannot be successful without a well-developed and deeply ingrained culture of jointmanship.

    December 12, 2013

    Anjan Kumar Sahu asked: The government has repeatedly been saying that climate change is not a security issue. But, what is the view of the Indian Army?

    P.K. Gautam replies: India is a responsible regional and global power.  The Indian Army is a part of the democratic system.  The report of the IDSA Working Group, “Security Implications of Climate Change for India” (Academic Foundation, New Delhi, 2009), explains why it is not considered as viable to take the issue of climate change as a security issue. India has the least per capita emission. Its securitisation in the sense of the Copenhagen School will make it more difficult and unfair. Rather, green consciousness of the Indian Army has been taken as a good practice at the international level, which has been covered in detail in my book, “Environmental Security: New Challenges and Role of the Military” (Shipra Publications, New Delhi, 2010). The Indian Army since the 1980s is the only army in the world which has had ecological task force battalions of the Territorial Army, undertaking greening projects in harsh terrain. The infantry which has the entire Himalayan border as combat zone is not very energy or carbon intensive. Carbon neutral foot and hoof mobility is the key which it sustains. Frugalness is also a virtue in war-fighting.

    But, overall, the military equipment of the three services is highly energy and material intensive. It is also destructive in its primary mission. It is incumbent that the Indian military also must be part of the adaptation and mitigation process of climate change and related matters, such as, arresting environmental degradation and restoration of natural capital with a green consciousness. The military’s effort in arresting climate change, including ozone depletion, is just one part of the spectrum. The Centre for Air Power Studies (New Delhi) is in the forefront of the initiatives on Montréal Protocol and Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) in the military, their reduction and phase out and banking till suitable replacements are found. Many foreign countries too have been assisted in this matter.

    For military operations under risks of climate change, you can also read my article, “Changing Geographical Factors in Planning and Conduct of Indian Military Operations”, Strategic Analysis, Vol. 32, Issue 2, March 2008 and  “Climate Change and the Military”, Journal of Defence Studies, Vol. 3, Issue 4, October 2009.

    Finally, the increasing role of military in climate-related disaster relief is well documented and will give you a new perspective. Military, to me, is part of the solution to climate change.

    Gaurav lulia asked: Does Indian army have sniper school & survival school?

    Vivek Chadha replies: India does have a sniper and survival school. However, these are known by different names. Infantry School Mhow, the premier institution for Infantry officers and soldiers, runs a number of training courses or programmes. Amongst these, they also run a sniper course which teaches the basics of the weapon and its employment in all battle situations. While we do not have a course specifically called as a survival course, however, two different schools run training on similar lines. The first is the Commando Wing. This runs a commando course which has an extremely rigorous schedule. It includes survival training, living off the land, long distance marches, escape and evasion, launching raids as some of the important aspects taught. The second course is run by the Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School, which teaches counter insurgency skills and jungle warfare. This also includes lessons on survival skills. In addition to this, infantry battalions also carry out training at their own level for specialist groups amongst their soldiers to imbibe similar qualities specifically suited to their respective operational role.

    Building Army’s Human Resource for Sub-Conventional Warfare by K.C. Dixit

    The Indian Army today faces a very complex challenge. It is increasingly becoming clear that the kind of wars that were fought a few decades ago are not going to be fought in the future. The nature of warfare is changing from conventional warfare to one that is ‘sub-conventional’. Rivalries among nations continue to exist but the spheres of these rivalries now focus on economic capabilities and strengths.

    April 2013

    ‘Strength One’ on the Moral Highway

    The erosion in moral values in the armed forces over the past few decades has left India’s political and military leadership bewildered and befuddled. No amount of preventive or curative measures appear to be succeeding in arresting this fall, as day after day dawns with news of fresh instances of impropriety and indecorum. This article attempts to examine the issues of morals and ethics as relevant to the profession of soldiering across the time continuum. It dwells further on the probable causes of the erosion of moral values and ethics in the Army.

    April 2013

    Ethics and Morals in the Armed Forces: A Framework for Positive Action

    Value systems form the spine of modern society, religion and every individual’s conscience with moral codes defining ‘appropriate’ and ‘expected’ activity. Ethics refer to an individual’s actions that are consistent with such value systems. While the former constitutes a basic human marker of right behaviour and conduct, the latter are a set of guidelines that define acceptable behaviour and practices for a certain group of individuals or society.

    April 2013

    Needed: A Better Appraisal System for Better Leaders

    There has been a palpable decline in the standards of morals, ethics and values as observed by officers in the armed forces and the bond between officers and men has weakened. This could be because officers with the requisite qualities are not adequately groomed to rise to the level of battalion commanders. The present appraisal system is largely to blame, it being based on a single Annual Confidential Report. A further drawback is that only superior officers report on a ratee. Inputs for appraisal need to be drawn from multiple sources geared towards a ‘360 degree evaluation’.

    April 2013

    Pages

    Top