In an unprecedented step, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral DK Joshi resigned, owning moral responsibility for warship and submarine accidents over the last six months, including the latest mishap on board submarine INS Sindhuratna off Mumbai.
The resignation of Admiral Joshi has also sent shock wave among the veterans in Dehradun. They also demanded from Ministry of Defence to sanction more funds for the repairing and modernization of equipment. After expressing his concern that the work of modernization and upgradation of equipment is bit slow, former president, Dehradun Ex-Services league Brig (Retd) KG Behl, said that the Union Government should sanction more funds for the timely the renovation and upgradation of equipment.
He said that exercise for replacing of obsolete weapons and communication systems should be done regularly. Brig Behl said that the latest technology should be also introduced timely with an aim eases out the pressure on other ranks.
Brig Behl said that in order to achieve this, there is a need to have adequate budgetary support matched with the desired technological base. Echoing the same feelings, BSF IG (Retd) SS Kothiyal said that maximum strength of the Indian Army is the young fighting force.
"Every year, the Indian forces releases an equipment modernization plan that explain how the nation's oldest military service proposes to maintain its edge in war fighting technology," he said adding that modernisation is a
sustained activity and the process of proper selection and trial of equipment has to be carried out to achieve the desired results.
IG Kothiyal said that there have been significant additions to the Army's inventory in fire-power, communications and surveillance equipments and modernisation implies the need to have a clearly spelt out vision which should adequately be supported by a balanced force structure and matching capabilities in weapons and equipment.
Speaking to The Pioneer, lt Col (Retd) GS Rawat, state president, Uttarakhand Purva Sainik and Ardh Sainik Sangathan, said that Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is
dedicated to the mission of progressive enhancement of self-reliance in defence systems and state-of-the-art defence technologies.
The Organisation has made great strides which have not only insulated the armed forces from the ill effects of the tightened arms export control, clamped by the advanced countries but have also progressively enhanced their combat effectiveness through induction of the state-of-the-art defence systems.
He also admitted that in order to meet future threats and challenges and achieve interoperability with friendly armed forces for joint operations in India's area of strategic interest, the Indian military needs to modernize and create force structures that are capable of undertaking network-centric warfare on land, at sea, and in the air.