Indian analysts advise PM of India to strengthen armed forces
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| Dornier Do-228-201 |
Originally Posted in Link
1. Boost
indigenous defence R&D and production. Revamp DRDO and its 50 labs, five
defence PSUs, four shipyards and 39 ordnance factories. Encourage the
private sector to enter arms manufacturing in a major way. India, embarrassingly,
still imports 65% of its military hardware and software.
2. Streamline
cumbersome arms procurement procedures to fast-track acquisitions and reduce
corruption. Also re-examine the policies for offsets, transfer of technology
and ban on agents. Projects for new submarines, howitzers, fighters,
helicopters, night-fighting capabilities, air defence weapons and the like
have been stuck for years due to politico-bureaucratic apathy.
3. Reform
the country's higher defence management, with measures ranging from creating a
chief of defence staff-like post to truly integrating Service HQs with the
defence ministry and cross-staffing (posting military officers to MoD at
the director/joint secretary-levels).
4. Ensure
faster build-up of both the new mountain strike corps as well as military
infrastructure like the long-identified 73 strategic roads and 14 railway
lines, helipads and advance landing grounds, along the Line of Actual Control
to counter China. Boost force-levels and infrastructure at Andaman and
Nicobar Command, apart from creating three new tri-Service commands for space,
cyber and special operations.
5. Complete
India's nuclear weapons triad by faster induction of nuclear submarine INS
Arihant and its follow-on sister ships with long-range missiles. Land and
air legs are already in place with Agni ballistic missiles and fighter-bombers.
6. Hike
budgeted defence expenditure to at least 2.5% of GDP, instead
of letting it wallow around just 1.7 to 1.9%, for adequate military
modernization and requisite deterrence against both China and Pakistan. Cut
the flab in the armed forces, improve the teeth-to-tail ratio.
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