Amit Cowshish

Defence planning has had a troubled history since its inception, in spite of several experiments with the structures and processes of planning. It will, therefore, be in the fitness of things to re-evaluate the existing architecture of planning.

• Published: April 11, 2016
• IDSA Comments

Beginning 2016–17, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will present four detailed demands for grant (DDGs)1 instead of eight that it had been presenting to the Lok Sabha2 in the past. It is not that its area of responsibility has shrunk. The reason why the number of demands has come down is that the budgetary outlays earlier spread over eight demands have now been compressed into four.

• Published: April 2016
• Journal of Defence Studies

Rather than continuing to harp on issues like inadequacy of defence outlays, the committee could actually bring about a tangible improvement in the state of defence preparedness by focusing on four specific micro areas.

• Published: April 04, 2016
• IDSA Comments

The best of policies and procedures can come to naught because of indecisiveness in decision-making. There is little in DPP 2016 that addresses the problems which beset decision-making in the MoD.

• Published: March 30, 2016
• IDSA Comments

The defence budget for the next fiscal has been completely restructured, making it difficult to make like-to-like comparisons. The growth in the defence budget is bound to disappoint the strategic community, notwithstanding the economic factors that may be responsible for it

• Published: March 02, 2016
• IDSA Comments

While taking stock of the acquisition proposals and projects is critical for bringing in efficiency in defence procurements, the focus on statistics dissembles some important issues.

• Published: February 25, 2016
• IDSA Comments

In spite of spending close to Rs 500,000 crore on capital acquisitions between 2002–03 and 2014–15, the Indian Armed Forces continue to suffer from a chronic shortage of equipment and ammunition, low levels of serviceability of equipment already in service, and a heavy dependence on imports. The procurement programmes keep getting stalled or take inordinately long to fructify. There are several reasons for this morass; the primary ones being disjointed defence planning, limited budgetary support for modernisation of the armed forces, procedural complexities, and bureaucratic indolence.

• Published: January 2016
• Journal of Defence Studies

The Defence Acquisition Council has decided to introduce a new category of Indian Designed, Developed and Manufactured equipment. This will be the most preferred category, ahead of ‘Buy (Indian)’, which presently occupies the pride of place.

• Published: January 20, 2016
• IDSA Comments

The issues confronting the defence establishment at the beginning of the year broadly related to defence policy, human resource management and operational preparedness.

• Published: December 29, 2015
• IDSA Comments

It will take just a few deals to be sealed, especially of the co-development/co-production variety, for the present drift in relations being arrested and brought back on an even keel.

• Published: December 22, 2015
• IDSA Comments