Defence budget as percentage of GDP lowest since 1962 war, says House panel

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Defence budget as percentage of GDP lowest since 1962 war, says House panel

IANS
26 July 2018 0  

The current defence budget as a percentage of GDP is lowest since the India-China war in 1962, a parliamentary panel has said and expressed its "unhappiness" over the share of capital expenditure in the defence expenditure being "abysmally low".

 

The Estimates Committee headed by BJP MP Murli Manohar Joshi, in its report on "Preparedness of Armed Force - Defence Production and Procurement", also said that "nothing concrete" has been done for implementation of strategic partnership model unveiled by the government in May 2017.

 

The committee presented its report in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

 

Noting that the future warfare is headed towards cyber warfare, drones, automated warfare systems, stealth technology and precision guidance, the committee felt that preparation for futuristic warfare has to be undertaken without any compromise on conventional war preparedness.

 

"The government may take steps for constituting an institutional arrangement to oversee the state of preparedness of the country in futuristic warfare," the report said.

 

It said foundation of future warfare system is information technology and artificial intelligence and that it applies to all the three wings of armed forces.

 

The committee said that defence expenditure has marginally increased since 2014-15 and when compared to Central government's expenditure, the percentage has declined from 13.15 during 2014-15 to 12.20 during 2017-18.

 

"Defence expenditure when analysed as a percentage of GDP, in the last few years has ranged between 2.06 per cent (2014-15) to 1.56 per cent (2017-18)."

 

The report said that as per a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) study, defence expenditure as a share of GDP of China and France has remained the same, increased in case of Saudi Arabia and Russia, and decreased in case of the USA and the UK in the last decade (2007-2017).

 

"Keeping in view the scale of GDP the developed countries have, the decrease of defence expenditure as percentage of GDP in India, as per government data, is more noticeable. The current defence budget as a percentage of GDP is at the lowest level since 1962 when India-China war was fought," the committee said.

 

It said that in the current geo-political scenario, a country of India's size cannot afford complacency on defence preparedness even for a two-front war while retaining its dominance in the Indian Ocean.

 

The committee said that allocation of adequate financial resources for defence preparedness both for current needs and expansion, and modernization plans "should be accorded highest priority" to enable the services to meet the challenges concerning safety and security of the country.

 

The Committee recommended that the capital procurement Budget should be in consonance with the projections made by the services as per Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) and said that resources allocated should be fully utilised.

 

"The committee members have expressed their unhappiness that the share of Capital Expenditure as a percentage of total Defence Services Expenditure is abysmally low and is continuously declining over the years. In the years 2012-13 and 2013-14, the share of capital expenditure was 39 per cent which in the year 2017-18 and 2018-19 came down to 33 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively."

 

The Committee expressed "serious concern" that dependence on foreign suppliers particularly for military hardware results in huge expenditure on import of defence equipment and also affects the security of the Country.

 

"During emergency situations the supplier may not provide us the required weapons or spare parts. Nothing concrete has been done for implementation of the strategic partnership model unveiled by the government in May 2017 which envisaged private players playing a key role in building military platforms like submarine and fighter jets in India in partnership with major global defence companies," it said.

 

Noting that the serviceability of aircraft was 60 per cent against the norm of 70 per cent, the panel stressed on addressing the issues. The committee called upon the government to take all initiatives for increasing production of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd not only for the three services but also for export to other countries.

 

Rapping the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the committee said it has "not been able to meet the country's expectations.

 

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Army wages war on obesity, warns doctors against declaring overweight officers as fit

https://www.mynation.com/news/army-wages-war-on-obesity-warns-doctors-against-declaring-overweight-officers-as-fit-pc23j9

 

Army wages war on obesity, warns doctors against declaring overweight officers as fit

By Ajit K Dubey

First Published 18, Jul 2018, 3:24 PM IST

HIGHLIGHTS

The Army headquarters issued the warning in the wake of three to four officers dying in service due to heart attacks or other lifestyle-related diseases

At a time when the force is laying stress on improving the fitness of their troops, the Army headquarters has warned military doctors against declaring obese officers as medically fit. 

The Army headquarters issued the warning in the wake of three to four officers dying in service due to heart attacks or other lifestyle-related diseases. 

"The Army chief has directed in the Army commanders' conference that medical officers would be held accountable for violating the guidelines declaring obese officers as Shape-I," a communication from Army's adjutant general branch issued on 10 June stated. 

In recent times, the Army has waged a war against obesity. It had issued a set of guidelines in August last year in which it had warned that such personnel would miss out on promotion, foreign postings and career enhancement courses in the force.

According to the policy on reducing obesity in the force, there would be no place to hide for obese personnel as senior officers have been granted powers to carry out random checks during their visits and medically downgrade such people after a thorough check up.

Recently, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had said that all ranks must feel proud to hang their uniform in Shape-1, which is the highest medical category. 

"All ranks must feel proud to hang their uniform in Shape-I, and should not clamour to go as lower medical category just to get disability pension," the Army chief said. 

Gen Rawat noted that the cases of disability, lifestyle diseases and sudden death of young soldiers during the Battlefield Physical Efficiency Test should alarm all of us. Measures to reduce deep-fried and unhealthy foods like puris, pakoras and sweet dishes need to be undertaken, and replaced with healthy alternatives acceptable to the troops. 

Last Updated 18, Jul 2018, 6:18 PM IST

 

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Lateral entry into civil services: Why the Ministry of Defence needs it the most

By Lt Gen PR Shankar   @palepurshankar |

 2018-07-16 16:30:14

MoD desperately needs people who have served in the Armed Forces, instead of IAS officers brought in from other departments.

The government's decision of lateral entry into various ministries is a good move. The Ministry of Defence needs it the most.

 

The recent announcement by the government to laterally induct 10 joint secretaries into various ministries evoked a lot of reactions. The decision was much debated in the media, with everyone having a view over it. However, one thing came through clear — for a growing power, we need to have expertise beyond the standard IAS officers in the government.

Personally, I felt it was a good decision, and welcomed it. However, it left me bemused. I felt that we were approaching it from the wrong end. I did not see any post advertised for the Ministry of Defence (MoD)!

A bureaucracy that lets its veterans sit on a protest in public and then gets them arrested by police needs introspection. (Photo: PTI)

 

This is the ministry where niche professional knowledge and competence is the most needed. In fact, I have always considered that this is one ministry which is most the disintegrated, though it is designated as the Integrated Head Quarters of the MoD.

Am I being harsh? Just consider this.

Any bureaucrat in any ministry is supposed to serve and promote the interests of the personnel and organisations who are under that ministry. Right? It is only the MoD bureaucrat who has beautifully succeeded in gaining a reputation among service personnel that he is working against them — whether in equipping them, paying them or safeguarding their interests, and, as an extension, the interests of the nation. 

A bureaucracy that lets its veterans sit on a protest in public and then gets them arrested by police needs introspection. That too after really having done so much for grant of OROP (which was not bad, despite some drawbacks that could have been ironed out). It was an international shame. The last time veterans were publicly humiliated, in my memory, was by the USA during the Vietnam War. India let itself down.

The incompetence of the MoD is contained in its own task force report on defence procurement — or the lack of it — which the honorable Dr Suresh Bhamre, MOS, reportedly submitted to the PM. It was a damning report. These episodes, from arcoss the spectrum of dealings in the MoD, point in just one direction. It is obvious enough to draw your own conclusions.

Why is this so?

That is because the MoD is manned by people who have very limited knowledge of defence affairs. The first variety is the IAS officers or other officers brought in on deputation from other ministries.  They are seeming know-it-alls and generally carry a chip of misplaced superiority on their shoulder.

The second variety is the Armed Forces HQ civilian cadre, who have very little knowledge beyond Delhi but are permanently near the levers of power. They seek parity with service officers, and hence ensure that the wrong levers are always pressed. The Services HQs are satellites in orbit manned almost exclusively by service officers. All these entities work in exclusive compartments; most of the time at cross-purposes with each other.

As eyewash, some service officers are posted in the MoD at insignificant positions. I have never dealt with a service officer in the MoD in any important appointment in all my assignments in Delhi. On the other hand, I always came across people dealing with important defence matters who had no clue about defence before they entered the portals of South Block. More importantly, they would have no link with defence after they completed their assignment.

Many were from railways, audit, agriculture, animal husbandry, health and other myriad departments. I always wondered as to why these posts could not be manned by service officers of requisite experience. It would add so much to the system, and then Dr Bhamre would not have to be occupied with producing such cathartic reports. Elementary, my dear Watson, but Sherlock would have been stumped!

You think I am exaggerating? Let me quote examples.

I once led a delegation to the USA to carry out a maintenance evaluation of the 155-mm Ultra Light Howitzer (ULH). It was a multidisciplinary team consisting of representatives from Artillery (users), EME (maintainers), DGQA (quality controllers) and the MoD. A director from the MoD acquisition wing was detailed. He was a genuinely good officer with whom I had dealt with. We all landed in their artillery school in Fort Sill to evaluate the Howitzer on the mandated aspects.

In our initial meeting, we introduced ourselves to the US team. We gave out our respective backgrounds. It was then that I came to know that this director was a veterinarian and from animal husbandry background. The Americans were bursting blood vessels, but kept poker faces during the discussion. I have always since wondered as to who selected a veterinary officer to handle capital procurement cases for the Army.

It is now a part of our records that a veterinarian had a hand in assessing the maintainability of the 155-mm ULH for Indian conditions. (Photo: India Today/file)

 

That selecting officer was a genius in the Alfred E Neuman class. If you are wondering who Alfred E Neuman is, he was the hero of MAD comics of my era. Well, that director did what he could and did it extremely well, due to his other good qualities of the heart. I always admired him for that. But I have also always blamed the system for choosing a veterinary officer for that post. No wonder our procurement is poor.

Anyway, that is history. It is now a part of our records that a veterinarian had a hand in assessing the maintainability of the 155-mm ULH for Indian conditions. The moral — even veterinarians can procure guns for India. Who needs Army officers?

The second case pertains to the time when I was sent to the USA to do an international course on defence management. It was a fantastic course about procurement. I learnt so much there that it stood me in good stead for the rest of the decade I was in service. With the education I got there, I could make a difference to my country, and I would like to think that I did, even if my sense is misplaced about its magnitude or importance.

Anyway, along with me came a director from the MoD to do this course. He was a bright and younger officer from the Indian Railways. Again, in my opinion, a very good officer. He was in an administrative post in the MoD. It was not his fault that he opted for a course in the US. There was probably no one else immediately available to do this course and he was promptly detailed.

So, an officer of the Indian Railways, in an administrative job in the MoD, did a course in defence procurement management from the USA. He never procured any equipment for the Services during his deputation at the MoD. I do hope he is doing some procurement for the Railways. After all, if veterinarians can procure guns for the Army with on-the-job training, Railway men can procure engines or whatever for the Railways after learning about arms procurement in an international environment.

I do hope the honorable Dr Bhamre has got some answers as to why our defence procurement is a mess.

Well, coming back to the present day, I understand that these 10 posts are important and are open for service officers to apply. Great. It brings me to a question. If service officers are considered fit enough to apply for posts of joint secretaries in other ministries based on their service experience, how come they are not fit to be joint secretaries in their parent ministry where their lifetime experience will be invaluable? More so their commitment and understanding?

It will contribute to greater integration of the MoD with the services, whom they are meant for. It will also promote sorely-needed joint-ness between the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. In my view, the MoD, the DRDO, the OFB and the DPSUS need to be populated with good officers from the Forces in all sections and branches. Unless charity begins at home, there is no use of big talk and reforms.

Will this be done? True reform in defence affairs will come when there is integration of the MoD in earnest. Treat this question to be coming from the quintessential common man of India, who has never been answered satisfactorily. He can only look at things in bewilderment.

This is the challenge I am throwing to the people in power — ministers, generals and secretaries. I am confident that this issue will be buried somewhere in the humungous files of the MoD. Will someone prove me wrong?