Modi regime must drive defence preparedness
After a decade of utter neglect of the country's defence preparedness by the inept Congress-led UPA regime and its genial but incompetent Defence Minister AK Antony, the situation appears to have begun to turn around with the arrival of the NDA Government. Barely 20 days in office, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister for Defence Arun Jaitley have taken tangible measures to signal that the defence sector is a priority area for the Union Government. The Prime Minister's visit to the aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, on June 14 and the defence review he undertook on June 13 indicates that our military requirements are going to get the attention they deserved but did not get in the last 10 years. In addition, Mr Jaitley's June 14 visit to the line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir underlines the Union Government's commitment to ensuring not just peace along the borders with Pakistan but also readiness to strike back if need be. On Saturday, the Prime Minister spent a considerable amount of time aboard India's largest warship, which he dedicated to the nation, and also witnessed air-power demonstrations by various naval aircraft. His critics may be quick to write these off as mere photo opportunities, but those who look closely will notice telling signs that there was more to the Prime Minister's day at sea. Mr Modi took deep interest in the functioning of the ship and asked incisive questions — indicating his willingness to learn more. His War Room meeting the day before in New Delhi was also on similar lines. The two-hour long briefing, conducted by Army chief General Bikram Singh, focussed on counter-insurgency operations in the North-East and J&K. Mr Jaitley, who spent the weekend reviewing the security system in Kashmir, was also at the meeting. It is not coincidental that there was a major ceasefire violation across the loC on the eve of his visit to Kashmir.
In yet another instance of renewed focus on the defence sector, the Union Government has approved the two billion dollar extension to the Karwar naval base in Karnataka, and begun the process of clearance for a radar station in the Andaman & Nicobar islands. Both these projects had been held up on environmental grounds but the Modi administration has made clear that green permits will be expedited for defence projects. This should also help speed up critical road and rail projects along the India-China border that had been stalled for decades either due to environmental or financial concerns.
For any meaningful progress to be made in the defence sector, though, there has to be a significant hike in the funds for the military. The 2014-2015 interim Budget had a defence outlay of just 1.7 per cent of the projected Gross Domestic Product; experts have been pitching for at least three per cent. In this context, Prime Minister Modi's emphasis on the indigenisation of defence production is welcome. An increase in the foreign direct investment cap for the defence sector will go a long way in firing up this dream into reality. Two other initiatives that the new Government has talked about and must now deliver are the construction of a National War Memorial and the implementation of the one-rank-one-pension scheme.