Group Captain Vinay Kaushal (Retd.) was Consultant at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Click here for detailed profile.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
The CAG report relating to the Indian Air Force has highlighted various anomalies and the unprofessional manner in which defence acquisitions are handled.
Defence capability building and capability sustenance have been adversely affected over the past decade because of inadequate allocations and the status quo approach of the Defence Services.
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.