Should the Legacy of Capital Budget Revenue Procedure (CBRP) Be Perpetuated in Draft DPP 2020?
Draft DPP 2020 provisions that continue to enable Capital Budget Revenue Procedure (CBRP) must be revisited.
- Vinay Kaushal
- April 10, 2020
India spends a significant amount of resources on its national defence. Efficiency in utilisation of resources is not only an economic imperative but vital for defence preparedness. In view of this, the Defence Economics and Industry Centre was created in 2006 to promote research on various economic aspects of India’s defence. Since its inception, the Centre has undertaken a number of policy relevant studies besides constantly engaging vital stakeholders (Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces and Industry) on a range of issues. The major focus areas of the Centre are:
No posts of Books and Monograph.
No posts of Jounral.
Draft DPP 2020 provisions that continue to enable Capital Budget Revenue Procedure (CBRP) must be revisited.
Draft DPP-2020 marks a paradigm shift from the past in many respects. It contains several new features intended to hasten the procurement process and provide a further fillip to the Make in India initiative in defence.
There is a need to act quickly on the issue of force majeure to scotch all speculations about how the MoD is going to deal with the inevitable delay in performance of contracts and instil confidence among the vendors.
Reforming defence pension is no more an option but a compulsion considering its exponential growth in the past, which is likely to continue in the future if no reform is undertaken.
The European Union-3 and Iran are indeed up against formidable odds to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) alive going forward.
The slowdown in economic growth not only seems to have cast its shadow on the allocation of the defence budget for 2020-21 but has also compounded the challenges for the country’s first CDS.
Considering that the defence capital expenditure already accounts for a very high share in the central government’s overall capital spend, any substantial hike in the former’s share looks less likely. This is more so given the government’s priority to spend on infrastructure and other non-defence capital assets to revive the economic growth.
There is a need to evolve a protocol for contract administration and post-contract management of all capital and revenue contracts awarded by various departments of the defence ministry and the armed forces.
Having decided to create the post of CDS, the next logical step for the government is to define its charter of duties and responsibilities. The government needs to examine not just the CDS’s role as a single-point military advisor, but also his role in other matters that are equally important in driving critical defence reforms.
The government’s decision to allow the private sector to undertake the development of complex defence equipment is a step in the right direction. It will help forge a larger innovation system to meet the diverse requirements of national security. However, caution may be required to avoid duplication of efforts and prevent indirect import.