The Acquisition of Rafale Aircraft: Facts and Concerns That Ought To Be In the Public Domain
The acrimonious debate in the public space on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft has been primarily focused on a few issues. The debate does not inform the public about the long, arduous and complex nature of the programme and the joint effort invested in it. The uniqueness of this programme is also not in the public domain. It does not specifically inform the lay person as to the rationale for restricting the numbers to two squadrons, and carries on oblivious of the collateral effect it may have on future acquisition programmes.
Estimating India’s Defence Manpower
India needs to have a public version of defence manpower database as part of its annual budgetary document. This would facilitate greater understanding and analysis of any possible manpower-related reforms in the future.
Public Private Partnership: A Model for Army’s Base Workshops
The PPP model helps in improving the productivity and exploiting the full potential of asset-based services that base workshops provide. This is particularly relevant when there exists a competitive market and a benchmark for the army between an in-house and an external solution.
Refining Draft DPP 2020: Some Suggestions
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.
Defence Budget 2020-21
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.
