Exploring Defence Procurement

  The eternal debate is about the wasteful expenditure nations make on defence. Expenditure that could have better used for improve the quality of life of the citizens. Countries like India on a developmental path, need to focus first on building core capacities to improve the HDI or Per Capita scores . This is reflected by steady decline in percentage terms on Defence allocation, though absolute numbers have kept increasing , reaping benefits of a growing economy. However, last few years have brought threat of a war closer to home. This needs closer attention by the strategic planners.  In the overall security matrix, India must maintain overwhelming superiority over Pakistan to ensure credible deterrence. Only then can we begin to approach the level of capability needed to dissuade or match China. It is evident that much remains to be done—and India must commit to a decade-long mission to achieve this strategic objective. Past few months have confirmed two realities; one we ...

The Year of Defence Reforms, as announced by the Raksha Mantri on 01 Jan 2025, laid out nine pillars of focused reforms. The fourth pillar highlighted that “ acquisition procedures need to be made simpler and time-sensitive to facilitate swifter and robust capability development. ”   The essence is to speed up capability development of the forces by having an agile acquisition process. Recent global wars and closer home Operation Sindoor and the aftermath have only made the reform more urgent. The character of warfare has undergone a rapid change or near total transformation. Conflicts over the past three years have tested the most advanced systems, forcing legacy platforms—many in service since World War II—to either reinvent themselves or risk irrelevance. The traditional method of enhancing military capability by upgrading standard platforms like tanks, artillery, ICVs, and rockets is being overtaken by the need to rethink platforms, tactics, and structures from the gr...

  Defence procurement suffer from L1 syndrome. Moving to L1T1 has simply not taken off. Sharing an idea to seek comments on process improvement to make it happen. Driving Theme. 1. Induction of niche and superior technologies must be a cornerstone of defence procurement. Opportunities for such induction must be explored at every stage of the procurement lifecycle. 2. However, this must be achieved without compromising due process, fairness, and cost-efficiency. Public funds must be spent with transparency and accountability. Framework. To operationalise this, structured mechanisms such as a Technology Evaluation Team (TET) and an Independent Technical Audit Panel (TAP) could be instituted. These bodies would: 1. Assess technological merit and innovation for suitability for concerned procurement case. 2. Guide capability benchmarking. Recommend justified financial or commercial incentives for superior technologies. Their findings should carry an institutional “seal of approval” tha...