Military and government view security requirements differently

by Lt General D S Hooda

The Indian defence budget has for the first time crossed Rs 3 lakh crore. This was announced by the interim finance minister among much desk-thumping in the Parliament. Factually, there is nothing to contest this statement, but it is also a fact that as a percentage of the GDP, the defence budget is at its lowest level. The current allocations will put enormous pressure on the modernisation of the military, particularly the army that has only 18% of its budget earmarked for capital acquisitions.

Revenue funds are also stressed and routine activity like training could suffer. The principal controller of defence accounts had recently declared that, “Due to insufficient funds available under Temporary Duty & Permanent Duty Heads of Army Officers, no TA/DA advances & claims can be processed till receipt of sufficient funds under the relevant heads.” The construction of Rafale hangars has been hit over pending dues to the Military Engineer Services.

It is obvious that there is a huge difference in how the military and the government view the national security requirements of the nation. The Indian navy is concerned with the increasing presence of Chinese ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean and needs a 200-ship navy by 2027 to guard our maritime interests. The air force looks with dismay at its dwindling fighter aircraft strength that could, over the next two years, go down to 26 squadrons against an authorisation of 42. The army is saddled with almost 70% of its equipment in the vintage category and, with the current allocations, has little hope of seeing a significant improvement over the existing state.

On the other hand, China, our main strategic competitor, is steadily gaining in military strength. China’s military spending, at $ 175 billion in 2018, and major defence reforms, are transforming the character of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Its growing power projection capability is reflected in its attempts to gain bases and logistics support permitting deployment in the “far seas”. We see this playing out in the Indian Ocean. In the coming years, a technologically advanced PLA with strong space, cyber and nuclear forces, could clearly outmatch the Indian military in most areas.

The government appears to have different priorities and believes that there are no major conventional threats that warrant a significant increase in the defence budget. For a country that is struggling to provide adequate healthcare, quality education and jobs for the youth, spending over 200 million dollars on a single aircraft could be considered an avoidable luxury. And this viewpoint cannot be easily dismissed.

How are the positions of the government and the military to be reconciled? In my view, the uniformed community has to take the first step. It must accept the reality of stressed military budgets and undertake reforms to transform itself into a leaner, but more capable force. This may sound contradictory, but is not necessarily so. I think that a single-minded focus on quantity and an inability to create integrated structures, is hampering the military from creating a more effective force. The army has already taken a lead in restructuring efforts and this must also be extended to the other two services and the civilian manpower under the ministry of defence.

On its part, the government also needs to have a serious discussion with the military leadership on the creation of a long-term capability development plan that takes a realistic look at India’s national security requirements. An absence of such a debate results in ad-hoc budget allocations without adequate focus on the genuine requirements of the services.

In a developing economy, there will always be a Guns Vs Butter debate, but if India aspires for a larger global role, it must have matching hard power. “Josh” of the Indian soldier will not be sufficient to compensate for basic military deficiencies.