The IAF should consider utilising the available aircraft and infrastructure at flying clubs for imparting basic training to its pilot trainees before sending them to the Kiran HJT-16.
While Mahindra’s foray into defence production and the acquisition of foreign companies demonstrates the private sector’s initiative, the government needs to introduce further reforms to promote the role of private companies in Indian defence industry.
The effectiveness of the procurement process needs to be viewed in context of the operational and structural readiness of the armed forces. If the existing framework proves to be weak and unable to deliver required levels of military preparedness, the framework may have to be re-laid for its effectiveness and deliverability.
If India does not modernize in an evenly spread out manner, it will be faced either with the prospect of its armed forces not being prepared, or rushing to make purchases amidst crises, or creating needless hysteria when frenzied modernization occurs.
Even as the new amendments incentivise domestic companies to enter defence production, the government has made it clear that it wants a competitive environment in defence industry.
Recent announcements of major arms acquisition programmes by the Indian government must have given a sense of elation to the armed forces, which have been waiting for long for some of this equipment. These announcements also give greater confidence to the nation about the military’s capability to tackle national security challenges. But there are other long term implications of arms procurement largely through import.
The latest Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) Performance Report on Defence Services (No. 4 of 2007) has once again exposed the problems involved in Indian defence acquisition. The report has been critical virtually of all the processes of the acquisition cycle, from planning to the formulation of Qualitative Requirements (QRs), vendor selection, conduct of trial and evaluations and processes of induction.
The Sixth Aero India Aerospace and Defence Exhibition held from February 07 to 11, 2007 was by all accounts a 'big' event. The biennial gathering was organized jointly by the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) Department of Defence Production and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). For the first time, Farnborough International Ltd., the organization that holds the Farnborough International Air Show, was involved. 503 defence companies from 33 countries were represented at the Yelahanka Air Force station in Bangalore, the venue of the show.
The recently concluded three-day international seminar on Defence Finance and Economics, organised by the Indian Ministry of Defence (Finance) in New Delhi, covered a wide variety of issues concerning defence finance and economics and reflected on varied perspectives and practices from across the globe. The seminar was of particular importance because of the involvement of policy makers, academics, and other experts from think tanks and the media, in exchanging and discussing their views in the realm of the changing business and spectrum of defence worldwide.
The primary objective of inventory management for the defence forces is to sustain and update their capabilities to perform the tasks given to them. The study of defence equipment purchase is normally confined to arms and equipment used for countering external aggression, although specialised equipment for surveillance and weaponry used in close combat situations especially in urban areas or those which result in little collateral damage are also utilised by the armed forces in anti-terrorist or counterinsurgency operations.
