India needs to adopt a whole-of-nation approach, involving industry, academia, and think tanks, to build a comprehensive institutional base on Arctic issues.
India–Russia cooperation in the Indian Ocean and the Arctic, including the Russian Far East, could give strong thrust to their deepening engagement. However, there is a need for heavy lifting from both sides to achieve the desired potential.
Considering that the US, Japan, Australia and India are committed to working for a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific, it is time for India’s strategic partners to review their cartographic positions on India’s borders.
A focused development plan for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which provide India with a commanding geostrategic presence in the Bay of Bengal and access to South and Southeast Asia, could greatly enhance the country’s geopolitical leverage in the Indian Ocean Region.
The draft offset guidelines 2020, with revamped features, is a bold attempt at attracting technology and investment as well as promoting defence exports. However, the MoD may consider further refining some of the features of the revised guidelines.
Inclusion of new clauses in the draft DPP-2020 and changes made in some of the existing ones are intended to make the SCD more comprehensive. However, there is a scope for bringing about textual clarity in the new as well as some of the existing clauses of the SCD, especially those which have been modified.
Given the rapidly rising pension liability in India and the concern expressed by the CDS, the experiences of the US and the UK could be useful in carrying out pension reforms in India.
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.
