Focus on acquisition, Defence Ministry tells Services.
By Ritu Sharma / ENS - NEW DELHI 08th November 2012 08:42
With sluggish economy putting in limbo its demand for additional funds, the Defence Ministry (MoD) on Wednesday asked the three Services to have a more “focused” approach towards acquisition, especially towards the critical projects and plans that have a direct bearing on their ‘operational preparedness’.
Many of the modernisation projects - artillery and fighter jets procurement - are moving at a snail’s pace and the huge capital expenditure earmarked for the current fiscal remains largely unspent. The projections made by Antony in his reply during the budget session in Rajya Sabha were found to be way off the mark in the review, sources revealed.
The delay in Indigenous Aircraft carrier (IAC), slow progress of border roads projects in Arunachal Pradesh, highly unsatisfactory progress of ordinance factories and defence PSUs are said to be the main reasons for the state of present affairs in the defence expenditure, sources said. To set right the course and exhaust the 1,93,000 crore of Defence budget, out which around Rs 80,000 crore was allocated for modernisation and acquisition projects, Antony has asked the officials to conducts series of separate review meetings about the projects and plans having direct linkages with the “operational preparedness”.
Earlier, the MoD had projected an additional budgetary requirement of Rs 50,000 crore for 2012-13. During the budget announcement itself, Antony had made it known that the amount was 15.5 per cent less than the estimated requirement of the services. Antony announced that as per projections, his ministry needed Rs 2,39,123 crore in total and thus they will require an additional amount of Rs 45,716 crore.
“The budget estimates were given in accordance with the assessment of the new emerging threat perception from neighbouring countries and the forces required it to meet the new challenges. However, with the other ministries facing cut, the Defence Ministry is afraid that the inability to finish the defence budget would lead to a cut in the next budget,” sources said.
In the ongoing financial year, the Defence Ministry is expected to conclude the largest open tenders to buy 126 medium multi-role fighter aircrafts at an estimated value of Rs 48,000 crore along with scores of other multi-billion dollar tenders for artillery, helicopters and warships reaching final stages. However, majority of these projects have been delayed due to slow acquisition processes and the losing vendors trying to put spoke in the process by citing irregularities in the deal. In comparison to the Defence budget of Rs 1.70 lakh crore in 2011-12, this year, the Defence budget was 13.15 per cent higher at Rs 1.93 lakh crore, out of which Rs 79, 579 crore was to be spent on purchase of new weapons and platforms. The hike though considerable as per the Indian standards will be no match to the country’s eastern neighbour.
Focus on acquisition, Defence Ministry tells Services - The New Indian Express
