Are India’s defence acquisitions in a mess?

[Singh]

Are India’s defence acquisitions in a mess?

India needs a major cleanup ​

Brahma Chellaney

The Economic Times, July 31, 2009

From castigating the government for frenetically importing weapons without any long-term vision to pointing out that gaps in India’s defences remain unplugged, the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India have helped highlight the rot that has set in. India is the only large country that relies on imports to meet basic defence needs, to the extent that it has become the world’s biggest arms buyer. But despite the ever-growing arms imports — a money-spinning business for many Indian politicians, civil servants and defence officers — India pursues an increasingly feckless policy towards China and has seen its military edge against quasi-failed Pakistan erode to the point that recurring cross-border terror strikes are met with terror-emboldening inaction.

Instead of remaining incorrigibly dependent on imports and serving as a dumping ground for obsolescent weapons, shouldn’t India build a military with the strategic reach and combat edge to deter regional adversaries? Consider some disturbing examples.

No sooner had the first batch of the British Hawk jet trainers been inducted — an antiquated system in which India invested $1.7 billion ostensibly to help minimize crashes — than a Hawk crashes. The 2007 induction of a 1971-vintage amphibious transport ship junked by the US navy and sold to India for $50 million kills an Indian officer and five sailors due to a gas leak on board. The CAG says the 2005 contract for six Scorpenes saddled India with a questionable submarine-design system and resulted in $72 million in “undue financial advantage” to the French vendor, plus “other unquantifiable benefits”. Now, at a price “60% more expensive than for a new one”, according to the CAG, India is buying from Moscow a refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier that had been rusting since a mid-1990s boiler-room explosion.

The defence of India is becoming an unremitting scandal. Clearly, India needs a major cleanup. To facilitate that, a three-year import moratorium is a must. In the process, without compromising India’s defence, some $20 billion will be saved in that period.

(c) Economic Times, 2009.

Are India’s defence acquisitions in a mess? - Windows Live

 

[pyromaniac]

A kid in a candy shop..thats what the defense acquisitions seems like....

 

[ajay_ijn]

is there any defence deal or project where CAG did not complain about irregularities? there isn't any coz its their job. Indian Govt or armed forces could not imagined something like Gorshy price rise or Hawk crashes. It was the problem with vendors. if we start disqualifying vendors based on that then no single supplier can sell us equipment, not even US companies. already US cos are backing out of some helicopter competitions because of the offset requirements.

I still think problem is redtape in defence aquisition process.

The defence of India is becoming an unremitting scandal. Clearly, India needs a major cleanup. To facilitate that, a three-year import moratorium is a must. In the process, without compromising India’s defence, some $20 billion will be saved in that period.

like military is so enthusiastic about indigenous products.

 

[ppgj]

india needs an expert constitutional body of defence pros,members of thinktanks whose integrity is not in question who can interact with the forces wrt the procurement well in advance and advise the govt.