Defence
Notes
New Delhi, 7 February 2018
Defence Modernisation
BUDGET GUNS DOWN HOPE
By PK Vasudeva
Hope for any major
jump in military modernisation in the backdrop of heightened tension with
neighbours Pakistan and China has been dashed. While the government has
increased the defence budget by 5.91 per cent for 2018-19 to Rs 2,95,511.41
crore, the allocation is estimated at around 1.58 per cent of the GDP -- the
lowest since 1962.
Moreover, the defence
budget includes a capital outlay of just Rs 99,563.86 crore for new weapon
systems and modernisation, which is dwarfed by the revenue expenditure (day-to-day
running costs, salaries etc.) of Rs 1,95,947.55 crore and expenditure on
pensions, which is an additional amount of Rs 1,08,853.30 crore. However, for
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley the defence budget accounts for 12.10 per cent of
the total government expenditure, and is 7.81 per cent more than the Rs
2,74,114.12 crore announced in the last Budget, 2017-18 -- the figure was later
revised to Rs 2,79,003.85 crore.
A closer look at the
annual defence budgets have shown a discernible trend of declining modernisation
outlays for new projects, with almost 80 per cent of the outlays earmarked for
“committed liabilities” (installments for arms’ deals inked in earlier years)
and skewed revenue to capital expenditure ratio. This has meant that the Army,
Navy and Air Force continue to grapple with critical operational gaps on
several fronts ranging from small arms, guns, howitzers, fighters, and
submarines to helicopters and also other defence equipment.
But Jaitley sought to
keep the morale high and in his speech particularly chose to express the
government’s gratitude to the Armed Forces. He said they “have played a stellar
role in meeting the challenges we have been facing on our borders as well as in
managing the internal security environment both in Jammu and Kashmir and the
North East. I would like to place on record our appreciation for the efforts
and the sacrifices made by the three Services in defending the interests of the
nation.”
He also declared that
in order to secure the country’s defences, the government was focusing on
developing connectivity infrastructure in border areas and stated: “Rohtang
tunnel has been completed to provide all weather connectivity to the Ladakh
region. Contract for construction of Zozila Pass tunnel of more than 14 km is
progressing well. I now propose to take up construction of tunnel under Sela
Pass (in Arunachal Pradesh).”
As per the 13th
Defence Plan, Rs 12,88,654 crore has been projected for the capital outlay,
while Rs 13,95,271 crore for revenue expenditure. With an eye firmly on China,
there is also a separate section in the plan on the “capability development” of
the strategically-located tri-Service Andaman and Nicobar Command, which was
set up in October 2001 but has suffered from relative neglect, lack of infrastructure
and turf wars due to shortage of funds.
In line with Modi’s
pet project “Make in India”, the government proposes to develop two defence
industrial production corridors and bring out an industry-friendly military
production policy to promote defence manufacturing in India. Jaitley said the
government would also bring out an industry-friendly “defence production policy
2018” to promote domestic production by the public sector, private sector and
MSMEs. Besides, private investment in defence production had been opened up,
including liberalising foreign direct investment.
Remember, the defence
Budget is utilised to meet both revenue and capital expenditure. India is a
growing superpower, which is surrounded by archrivals Pakistan in the west and
China in the north. In addition to this, India has to fight terrorism and
insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast, so the defence Budget must
fulfil all the needs of our defence forces.
The Infantry, which
is the ‘queen of battle’, has acute shortage of small arms like assault rifles,
sniper rifles, Sten guns, light machine guns and anti-tank guided missiles. In
small arms, Indian Small Arms System Rifles (INSAS) need to be replaced with
modern assault rifles. Currently the Army is using AK-47’s and INSAS. Besides,
the personal kit of an Indian soldier, which includes bulletproof jackets,
helmets and shoes, needs to be replaced with lighter kit.
The Army has once
again sounded the alarm about its critical operational deficiency in the field
of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) 68,000 and 850 launchers, which are
crucial for the infantry to halt advancing enemy tanks in the plains as well as
guard the ‘active’ line of control with Pakistan. The Army is asking the
government for the emergency induction of at least some of these ‘tank killers’
till the indigenous man-portable systems being developed by the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) become a reality.
As far as the Air
Force is concerned, the picture is not too bright either. There is a major
shortage of fighter jets. Currently we have 33 squadrons of fighter jets,
whereas IAF is authorised 42 fighter squadrons. This figure will reduce further
as MIG fighter jets will be decommissioned soon.
The government had
signed a deal to procure 126 French fighter jets, Rafale, 36 of these fighter
jets will be delivered by 2019 in the ‘ready to fly’ and rest 90 of these will
be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd. The induction of indigenous
built Tejas will also narrow the gap, but this aircraft needs improvement to
match the requirements of IAF.
The picture is
equally gloomy in the Indian Navy. There is a shortage of submarines. We have
currently 14 submarines in operation; half of these have completed their 75 per
cent of service. INS Kalvari has been commissioned into the navy under
project-75 and five more submarines will be inducted under the same projection
the coming years. We need to have at least 24 submarines. Currently we have
only one aircraft carrier along the western coast, but we need another aircraft
carrier along the eastern coast. If we want our navy to be a ‘Blue Water Navy’,
attention needs to be paid to its modernisation.
More worryingly, the
allocations made for maintenance of equipment currently in use is also
inadequate. Similarly, allocation towards war wastage stock including
ammunition stock is largely the same as last year. In addition to focus on
“Make in India” in defence, it is expected that indigenous design and
development be undertaken by Indian industry for producing important
components. Since its introduction, no development project has been signed. It
has been allocated a paltry Rs. 44.63 crore in assistance. This year’s budget
is also silent on policy issues like the strategic partnership scheme and
defence technology fund.
Talking on the issue
of underutilisation of the capital expenditure, there is an issue in terms of
modernisation expense. This expense is not fully consumed year after year.
Almost Rs 6000 crore was surrendered in the financial year 2016-17. As per the
estimates, approximately Rs.7000 crore worth of the capital budget has been
surrendered from the 2017-18 capital expenditure.
The defence outlay
has been receding every year but for 2018-19 it has been the lowest of the GDP,
which is of grave concern for the Armed forces. Parliament’s Standing Committee
of Defence and Analysts had recommended that the defence outlay for its
modernisation should be 2.5 to 3 per cent of the GDP and warned that
under-allocation will have serious implications for battle worthiness of the
forces. --- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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