Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Defence Research and Development Organisation headquarters in New Delhi on August 20 for an awards ceremony. It did not take long before he put his finger on DRDO’s main problem ─ the propensity of its projects to turn into white elephants.
This casual attitude won’t do because the world won’t wait for you, Modi told officials, and asked the organisation, which has an uneven record of delivering crucial infrastructure to the country’s armed forces, to raise its game.
Established in 1958, the DRDO is meant to formulate, design and execute projects relevant to the country’s national security, above all for producing equipment required by the armed forces. Central to the defence ministry, the organisation works on everything from missile and aviation technologies to high-altitude agriculture and nuclear medicine.
But most of the DRDO’s projects are running behind schedule, some by decades, which could considerably hamper Modi’s plans to make India a defence equipment export hub. In its defence, the DRDO says it has 530 ongoing projects that often suffer from budgetary constraints. The organisation gets just 5% of the annual defence budget. The rest of the defence budget is spent on the day-to-day running of the armed forces, expanding operations and importing equipment.
Key problem
But the government's initial steps towards boosting efficiency in the defence ministry have not borne fruit. For instance, the plan to make it easier to acquire equipment deemed critical by the armed forces has not yet taken off.
A fundamental problem is that as the 100-day honeymoon period for the new National Democratic Alliance government ends, the country still does not have a full-time defence minister: Arun Jaitley holds both the defence and finance portfolios.
One reason Jaitley is shuffling between North Block, home to the finance ministry, and South Block, where the defence ministry is located, is the competition that arose for the defence portfolio when Modi was assembling his team. The Bharatiya Janata Party's Murli Manohar Joshi, who gave up his seat in Varanasi to Modi, made an aggressive pitch for the portfolio, say those familiar with the matter.
Other accounts suggest that Modi has not been able to identify candidates who fit his requirements of leadership. Since then, there have been plenty of rumours about who will replace Jaitley, with Vasundara Raje, Rajasthan's chief minister, being the latest name to crop up.
Overhaul needed
The defence ministry badly needs an institutional overhaul. This involves removing layers of red-tape involved in acquiring critical weapons for the armed forces. The acquisition process for defence equipment takes up to seven years. Many observers agree about the need for radical change after the train wreck of an administration that former defence minister, AK Antony, left behind in South Block.
Under Antony's watch, indigenous projects floundered, the Indian Navy suffered some of the worst accidents, a row erupted over the army chief VK Singh's age, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi was chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation for accepting bribes, and corruption in the purchase of the Augusta Westland choppers came to light. Critics say that Antony was himself not corrupt but signed off on matters without understanding them.
Problems plague a range of the defence sector's activities: from procuring modern equipment and maintaining personnel to supporting pensioners and rehabilitating soldiers wounded during service, to name a few. For the upkeep of such a massive army, it is vital for the Indian economy to maintain a healthy growth path along with a thriving domestic defence industry.
But reforming and reviving the Indian defence sector needs an architect, which the government has yet to appoint. From afar, it may seem like the BJP does not have a suitable candidate, but not everyone believes this is the case.
"I am not convinced that there is a talent crunch," said Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president of the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research. "The question is whether the government is looking for something more than talent. Does the question of loyalty come in, as in, do you want to avoid people who could turn out to be a little more independent? This is what seems to be happening across the board."
But the new government has moved, clearing defence deals worth Rs 17,000 crore on August 29.
Arms and equipment
India imports most of its defence equipment, paying millions of dollars to foreign companies, because it cannot depend on its own military research and development projects. India is the world’s largest arms importer in dollar terms, well ahead of China, which is fifth. India spent about 2.4% of its GDP on defence between 2009 and 2013, according to the World Bank.
To partially address this, the government in its budget raised the foreign direct investment limit in the defence sector to 49% from 26%, hoping to make it more attractive for foreign companies to set up production units here. This way, the government hopes to get access to defence technology that it does not have or that the DRDO has failed to deliver.
However, retired Major General Mrinal Suman, an expert on India’s defence procurement policies, has said previously that increasing FDI to 49% is not enough and is akin to protectionism. He has argued that defence enterprises with a majority foreign holder will create healthy competition in the domestic sector, and Indian companies, especially PSUs, will have to reinvent themselves to survive and could end up flourishing.
Some of India’s defence projects have become infamous for spanning generations. Commissioned in the early 1980s, the first, or mark 1,version of Tejas, a light combat aircraft, will only see service by 2017. The more advanced, mark 2 version will be ready only by 2021. Production of the advanced light helicopter continues despite allegations of design flaws. The intermediate jet trainer programme is hanging by a thread because of design failures. The Indian Air Force is looking abroad to plug the gaps.
Some successes
India has had success in defence production, such as in making naval warships and ballistic missiles. Forty warships, including an aircraft carrier, are currently in various stages of design and construction across the country for the navy. Missiles such as Agni-I, II and III along with BrahMos cruise missile, which is being jointly developed with Russia, and the Aakash surface-to-air system are being inducted into the armed forces.
Modi will no doubt give defence and security much more attention than they got over the past few years. He is expected to strengthen both India's conventional and nuclear defence apparatus, given that the BJP has historically placed a greater emphasis on defence than the Congress.
But by delaying appointing a full-time minister, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has made only a tentative beginning in implementing its defence programme.
To read all Kabir Taneja's pieces evaluating key ministries 100 days after the formation of the new government, click here.
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This casual attitude won’t do because the world won’t wait for you, Modi told officials, and asked the organisation, which has an uneven record of delivering crucial infrastructure to the country’s armed forces, to raise its game.
Established in 1958, the DRDO is meant to formulate, design and execute projects relevant to the country’s national security, above all for producing equipment required by the armed forces. Central to the defence ministry, the organisation works on everything from missile and aviation technologies to high-altitude agriculture and nuclear medicine.
But most of the DRDO’s projects are running behind schedule, some by decades, which could considerably hamper Modi’s plans to make India a defence equipment export hub. In its defence, the DRDO says it has 530 ongoing projects that often suffer from budgetary constraints. The organisation gets just 5% of the annual defence budget. The rest of the defence budget is spent on the day-to-day running of the armed forces, expanding operations and importing equipment.
Key problem
But the government's initial steps towards boosting efficiency in the defence ministry have not borne fruit. For instance, the plan to make it easier to acquire equipment deemed critical by the armed forces has not yet taken off.
A fundamental problem is that as the 100-day honeymoon period for the new National Democratic Alliance government ends, the country still does not have a full-time defence minister: Arun Jaitley holds both the defence and finance portfolios.
One reason Jaitley is shuffling between North Block, home to the finance ministry, and South Block, where the defence ministry is located, is the competition that arose for the defence portfolio when Modi was assembling his team. The Bharatiya Janata Party's Murli Manohar Joshi, who gave up his seat in Varanasi to Modi, made an aggressive pitch for the portfolio, say those familiar with the matter.
Other accounts suggest that Modi has not been able to identify candidates who fit his requirements of leadership. Since then, there have been plenty of rumours about who will replace Jaitley, with Vasundara Raje, Rajasthan's chief minister, being the latest name to crop up.
Overhaul needed
The defence ministry badly needs an institutional overhaul. This involves removing layers of red-tape involved in acquiring critical weapons for the armed forces. The acquisition process for defence equipment takes up to seven years. Many observers agree about the need for radical change after the train wreck of an administration that former defence minister, AK Antony, left behind in South Block.
Under Antony's watch, indigenous projects floundered, the Indian Navy suffered some of the worst accidents, a row erupted over the army chief VK Singh's age, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi was chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation for accepting bribes, and corruption in the purchase of the Augusta Westland choppers came to light. Critics say that Antony was himself not corrupt but signed off on matters without understanding them.
Problems plague a range of the defence sector's activities: from procuring modern equipment and maintaining personnel to supporting pensioners and rehabilitating soldiers wounded during service, to name a few. For the upkeep of such a massive army, it is vital for the Indian economy to maintain a healthy growth path along with a thriving domestic defence industry.
But reforming and reviving the Indian defence sector needs an architect, which the government has yet to appoint. From afar, it may seem like the BJP does not have a suitable candidate, but not everyone believes this is the case.
"I am not convinced that there is a talent crunch," said Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president of the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research. "The question is whether the government is looking for something more than talent. Does the question of loyalty come in, as in, do you want to avoid people who could turn out to be a little more independent? This is what seems to be happening across the board."
But the new government has moved, clearing defence deals worth Rs 17,000 crore on August 29.
Arms and equipment
India imports most of its defence equipment, paying millions of dollars to foreign companies, because it cannot depend on its own military research and development projects. India is the world’s largest arms importer in dollar terms, well ahead of China, which is fifth. India spent about 2.4% of its GDP on defence between 2009 and 2013, according to the World Bank.
To partially address this, the government in its budget raised the foreign direct investment limit in the defence sector to 49% from 26%, hoping to make it more attractive for foreign companies to set up production units here. This way, the government hopes to get access to defence technology that it does not have or that the DRDO has failed to deliver.
However, retired Major General Mrinal Suman, an expert on India’s defence procurement policies, has said previously that increasing FDI to 49% is not enough and is akin to protectionism. He has argued that defence enterprises with a majority foreign holder will create healthy competition in the domestic sector, and Indian companies, especially PSUs, will have to reinvent themselves to survive and could end up flourishing.
Some of India’s defence projects have become infamous for spanning generations. Commissioned in the early 1980s, the first, or mark 1,version of Tejas, a light combat aircraft, will only see service by 2017. The more advanced, mark 2 version will be ready only by 2021. Production of the advanced light helicopter continues despite allegations of design flaws. The intermediate jet trainer programme is hanging by a thread because of design failures. The Indian Air Force is looking abroad to plug the gaps.
Some successes
India has had success in defence production, such as in making naval warships and ballistic missiles. Forty warships, including an aircraft carrier, are currently in various stages of design and construction across the country for the navy. Missiles such as Agni-I, II and III along with BrahMos cruise missile, which is being jointly developed with Russia, and the Aakash surface-to-air system are being inducted into the armed forces.
Modi will no doubt give defence and security much more attention than they got over the past few years. He is expected to strengthen both India's conventional and nuclear defence apparatus, given that the BJP has historically placed a greater emphasis on defence than the Congress.
But by delaying appointing a full-time minister, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has made only a tentative beginning in implementing its defence programme.
To read all Kabir Taneja's pieces evaluating key ministries 100 days after the formation of the new government, click here.
