MoD trying to make up for lost time

[Ind4Ever]

MoD trying to make up for lost time
Sun, Aug 30, 2015

The Defence Ministry may be under fire right now for the delay in implementation of the much-expected One Rank One Pension scheme for military veterans but behind the scene, many quick decisions to acquire critical equipment for the three armed forces over the past year have been taken, making up for lost time in the second term of the UPA government.



Figures available with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show that 30 major and small contracts worth more than Rs 55,000 crore have been signed or indents placed. The biggest beneficiary has been the Indian Navy with the government giving a go ahead for construction of seven frigates worth Rs 45,021 crores. By comparison, the next biggest sanction in terms of value for the Army to buy the Smerch Multi Rocket System worth Rs 2625.27 crores looks paltry but the acquisition itself is crucial to fill the gaps in Army's defences.



In addition, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)--the crucial body that takes final decision on what to buy for the military--has accorded what is called Acceptance of Necessity (AON) approval for 22 proposals worth Rs 56912 crore. More interestingly, only seven of these 22 proposals will be fulfilled through what is called the Buy (Global) category. On the other hand, an overwhelming 95 per cent proposals worth Rs 54,116 crores will be met under the Buy and Make (Indian) category, giving a big boost to the Make in India programme.



As Defence Minister Manohar Pariikar said in his address to the military on the eve of the Independence Day: "The government is well aware of the need to maintain all round vigil on the nation's borders, to prevent any misadventure from across the borders. Therefore, keeping our war machinery in readiness and to be able to mobilize troops to forward positions at short notice is imperative. At the same time, there is the need to constantly upgrade and modernize the weapon systems and equipment. We have taken a number of steps to equip our forces with the best of the arms currently available and are constantly striving to make most of them indigenously."



Acquisition of crucial weapons platforms apart, many significant projects have progressed further, filling some crucial gaps in India's defence preparedness. Building on the earlier successes, Agni series of missiles (one of the few projects that did extremely well under the country's longest serving Defence Minister AK Antony) are being tested by the users. The successful trial of India's first Intercontinental ballistic misile (ICBM), Agni-5 on 31st January will help India further fine tune its plan for a nuclear triad and so will the first successful test firing of the ship-launched ballistic missile Dhanush.



Enhancing infrastructure along the China frontier has also received renewed attention in the MoD. According to figures available now, 762 crucial roads in the border areas of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh have been included in the Border Roads Development Board programme allowing the Director General Border Roads to grant financial sanction without any further approval from the Ministry. Earlier, the DG, Border Roads had to take case by case sanction for each maintenance grant, delaying the projects considerably. Given that roads are a key element of India's defence preparedness against China, this step will help immensely.



However, it must be remembered that military modernisation is a never ending process and therefore Parrikar and his team must ensure that the pace set by them does not slacken even as prudent use of resources becomes a mantra for the MoD in coming years.

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[Abingdonboy]

MoD trying to make up for lost time

They are failing on most fronts

 

[PARIKRAMA]

my only issue is DAC approval to ground realities is a bit different
an example is P75I .. with much fanfare we said 50K cr project and till now nothing even though we know how subs are very vital for us
another example is apache and chinook deal.. Still another extension i think 13th time.. its baffling
the naval arm NUH or S70B is also i don knw whats the future of that

So my contention is DAC approval becomes just a paper stamp with no substance.. the follo on different approvals and actual ground realities for implementation is still a big gap to fill..If Rs54K cr projects under buy and make in India is implemented, i am sure the economic growth would be increased by some points.. But is that really happening.. Seems all are in paper only..
Call me sadist but i will wait for more concrete action rather than just DAC approval at nightime (ya after dinner meetings lol)

 

[Ind4Ever]

They are failing on most fronts

haha brother we are not wealthy country yet That too this govt is pro defence and believes in brutal show of strength . They are trying their best !

my only issue is DAC approval to ground realities is a bit different
an example is P75I .. with much fanfare we said 50K cr project and till now nothing even though we know how subs are very vital for us
another example is apache and chinook deal.. Still another extension i think 13th time.. its baffling
the naval arm NUH or S70B is also i don knw whats the future of that

So my contention is DAC approval becomes just a paper stamp with no substance.. the follo on different approvals and actual ground realities for implementation is still a big gap to fill..If Rs54K cr projects under buy and make in India is implemented, i am sure the economic growth would be increased by some points.. But is that really happening.. Seems all are in paper only..
Call me sadist but i will wait for more concrete action rather than just DAC approval at nightime (ya after dinner meetings lol)

I guess apache and chinook deal postponed till PM trip to US .

 

[PARIKRAMA]

haha brother we are not wealthy country yet That too this govt is pro defence and believes in brutal show of strength . They are trying their best !



I guess apache and chinook deal postponed till PM trip to US .

we need them either way.. delaying is not helping much.. the more we postpone we are not getting any sweetner added thr.. Unfortunately we dont have alternatives to either apache chinooks or S70B.. Thus i guess we should get the deals done as early as possible..

 

[Makaramarma]

my only issue is DAC approval to ground realities is a bit different
an example is P75I .. with much fanfare we said 50K cr project and till now nothing even though we know how subs are very vital for us
another example is apache and chinook deal.. Still another extension i think 13th time.. its baffling
the naval arm NUH or S70B is also i don knw whats the future of that

So my contention is DAC approval becomes just a paper stamp with no substance.. the follo on different approvals and actual ground realities for implementation is still a big gap to fill..If Rs54K cr projects under buy and make in India is implemented, i am sure the economic growth would be increased by some points.. But is that really happening.. Seems all are in paper only..
Call me sadist but i will wait for more concrete action rather than just DAC approval at nightime (ya after dinner meetings lol)

Let me make it simple and talk in a language you will understand. PRIORITY will be given to ALL Military equipments MADE IN INDIA.

So Apache, Chinook and S70B will go slow.

P-75I has been CHANGED to make it a completely MADE IN INDIA project. Project and Vendor evaluation is going on and since a Billion $ Submarine is a HUGE and COMPLEX program, the evaluation will take time.

DAC is a statutory body who's job is to evaluate and clear proposals. Now since we are a practising democracy and have a system of checks and balances, the proposal have to be evaluated for financial soundness by the relevant authority and ONLY then can the PO be released. That is how it is in all parts of the world. Which is why most companies have an Accounts Department.

So unless, we turn into a dictatorship, there is no hope.

 

[Ind4Ever]

we need them either way.. delaying is not helping much.. the more we postpone we are not getting any sweetner added thr.. Unfortunately we dont have alternatives to either apache chinooks or S70B.. Thus i guess we should get the deals done as early as possible..

these are decade of decay made by congress . At least things started moving from inside like weapons shortages to defects in armed forces . i could give 8/10 for this govt . they deserve that. BJP has to deliver on civilian front as well to stay in power like infras , new policies . welfare schemes etc. Just now bihar got 1.4 lac crore bumper and 4 lac cr for 98 existing cities in 5 years . Now add energy security like solar wind renewable energy etc . Thats lots more heavy budgeting required !

we need them either way.. delaying is not helping much.. the more we postpone we are not getting any sweetner added thr.. Unfortunately we dont have alternatives to either apache chinooks or S70B.. Thus i guess we should get the deals done as early as possible..

Let me make it simple and talk in a language you will understand. PRIORITY will be given to ALL Military equipments MADE IN INDIA.

So Apache, Chinook and S70B will go slow.

P-75I has been CHANGED to make it a completely MADE IN INDIA project. Project and Vendor evaluation is going on and since a Billion $ Submarine is a HUGE and COMPLEX program, the evaluation will take time.

DAC is a statutory body who's job is to evaluate and clear proposals. Now since we are a practising democracy and have a system of checks and balances, the proposal have to be evaluated for financial soundness by the relevant authority and ONLY then can the PO be released. That is how it is in all parts of the world. Which is why most companies have an Accounts Department.

So unless, we turn into a dictatorship, there is no hope.

Moreover SSN and SSBN funding will be off the book. Who knows what we have planned for off the boof equipments for strategic purpose

 

[Makaramarma]

Moreover SSN and SSBN funding will be off the book. Who knows what we have planned for off the boof equipments for strategic purpose

Not anymore. India has declared its intention to build SSN and SSBN.

 

[Ind4Ever]

Not anymore. India has declared its intention to build SSN and SSBN.

Details and funding will be hash hash !!

 

[zambino]

Kal rafale deal sign hoga kya??

 

[Abingdonboy]

Let me make it simple and talk in a language you will understand. PRIORITY will be given to ALL Military equipments MADE IN INDIA.

So Apache, Chinook and S70B will go slow.

I'm sorry but this is one of the dumbest things I have heard in a while. So, because these 3 deals were started under the previous GoI and initial quantities do not make local production viable these should be delayed? Forget the fact the Mi-26 fleet is almost non-operational, the Mi-35s are ancient and the IN is going to sea with empty hangers on their BILLION USD destroyers because the 40+ year old Sea Kings are relics. Is this really what you are saying? IF this is what the GoI is doing then they are beyond stupid and they deserve to be strung up. I honestly don't believe there is any substance to this though, things are just dragging out for one reason or another which is problematic in itself.

DAC is a statutory body who's job is to evaluate and clear proposals. Now since we are a practising democracy and have a system of checks and balances, the proposal have to be evaluated for financial soundness by the relevant authority and ONLY then can the PO be released. That is how it is in all parts of the world. Which is why most companies have an Accounts Department.

So unless, we turn into a dictatorship, there is no hope.

This doesn't mean things can't be sped up, no one is advocating removing the checks and balances from the procurement system but many are frustrated because of the sheer amount of time it takes the Fin Min and CCS to process these deals now they have DAC clearance, we all know this process could be expedited.

haha brother we are not wealthy country yet That too this govt is pro defence and believes in brutal show of strength . They are trying their best !

I'm afraid it isn't good enough from them bro, for all their hype the NDA has been a MASSIVE let down on the defence front.

I guess apache and chinook deal postponed till PM trip to US .

I hope so but if that is the case the GoI needs to stop messing around trying to arrange deals around the PM's foreign visits. Previous GoIs had intentionally refused to sign such deals during foreign visits and visits to India by foreign officials so as to not have these deals bound by such arbitrary timelines and schedules. I sincerely hope the current GoI is not pursuing such a foolish policy.

 

[Makaramarma]

I'm sorry but this is one of the dumbest things I have heard in a while. So, because these 3 deals were started under the previous GoI and initial quantities do not make local production viable these should be delayed? Forget the fact the Mi-26 fleet is almost non-operational, the Mi-35s are ancient and the IN is going to sea with empty hangers on their BILLION USD destroyers because the 40+ year old Sea Kings are relics. Is this really what you are saying? IF this is what the GoI is doing then they are beyond stupid and they deserve to be strung up. I honestly don't believe there is any substance to this though, things are just dragging out for one reason or another which is problematic in itself.

It has nothing to do with the deals being started under the previous govt.

It has everything to do with the Present govt. plans to facilitate Make in India and ensure our Military capacity is home grown and has depth.

Priority of funding is FIRST for Made in India, THEN for Non Made in India.

So, as long as there is Made in India goods in the basket of buys, they will continue to get priority funding.

This doesn't mean things can't be sped up, no one is advocating removing the checks and balances from the procurement system but many are frustrated because of the sheer amount of time it takes the Fin Min and CCS to process these deals now they have DAC clearance, we all know this process could be expedited.

IT IS being sped up, what took 10 years earlier, now takes 1 year. That is 10 TIMES more faster and efficient.

Fin Min has its plate full of Global Economic Crisis and Indian economic realities. They have their priorities too and so far there is no evidence that Defence is given any less priority.

I'm afraid it isn't good enough from them bro, for all their hype the NDA has been a MASSIVE let down on the defence front.

You are entitled to your opinion, only its not borne out by facts.

 

[Agent_47]

Let me make it simple and talk in a language you will understand. PRIORITY will be given to ALL Military equipments MADE IN INDIA.

So Apache, Chinook and S70B will go slow.

P-75I has been CHANGED to make it a completely MADE IN INDIA project. Project and Vendor evaluation is going on and since a Billion $ Submarine is a HUGE and COMPLEX program, the evaluation will take time.

Here comes another 'make in india' fanboy.You prioritise things based on critical needs not on some branding slogans.If they are so hard core about it why did they scrap MMRCA? (LCA is not Rafale).

For navy currently S70B is more impotent than any aircraft carriers or destroyers.IAF six operates maintenance hungry il-76 tanker for a fleet of 35 sqd of fighters. A330 MRTT,Apache, Chinook are the priority. There are no alternatives for these deals.
evaluating P75I ! ? The RFP is not even out, how can you do evaluate subs without it? In one and a half years all they did is surveying all shipyards and placed a report says all big shipyards are capable to build your "HUGE and COMPLEX " subs.If we have learned any thing from scorpian fiasco these fanboys wouldn't have made it full "make in India". Navy begged to differ.

 

[Makaramarma]

Here comes another 'make in india' fanboy.You prioritise things based on critical needs not on some branding slogans.If they are so hard core about it why did they scrap MMRCA? (LCA is not Rafale).

For navy currently S70B is more impotent than any aircraft carriers or destroyers.IAF six operates maintenance hungry il-76 tanker for a fleet of 35 sqd of fighters. A330 MRTT,Apache, Chinook are the priority. There are no alternatives for these deals.
evaluating P75I ! ? The RFP is not even out, how can you do evaluate subs without it? In one and a half years all they did is surveying all shipyards and placed a report says all big shipyards are capable to build your "HUGE and COMPLEX " subs.If we have learned any thing from scorpian fiasco these fanboys wouldn't have made it full "make in India". Navy begged to differ.

.......and here is another Indian Army fan boy out to teach the bloody civilians a lesson.

If the needs have become "critical" then the Def forces have already failed in their job, do they do not get to point fingers at others or demand things to cover up their incompetency.

The S-70B is stuck at critical price negotiations when the vendor hiked the price by 300% (for whatever reasons) ........ so you see, the priority got reassigned.

DAC is the body to determine priority so I trust it better than fanboys on pdf. Don't let your Hubris convince your otherwise.

When the P75I is in the RFI stage, how can the RFP be out ? ........ why has the IN not drafted the RFP by now ? Probably because they know a few more things than fanboys like you.

 

[Abingdonboy]

It has everything to do with the Present govt. plans to facilitate Make in India and ensure our Military capacity is home grown and has depth.

Well this is entirely contradicted by the evidence. The CH-47F, AH-64E, M777, A330 MRTT and S-70B are all urgent procurements that are needed ASAP to replace ancient equipment. So you are saying the GoI would compromise the present day needs of the armed forces to further their own political agenda (Make in India)?

Priority of funding is FIRST for Made in India, THEN for Non Made in India.

I sincerely hope you are misinformed. This would be utterly criminal if it were true.

You are entitled to your opinion, only its not borne out by facts.

Prove to me otherwise.

On the defence front the NDA govt has entirely failed to live up to expectations:

No M777s
No CH-47Fs
No AH-64Es
No A330 MRTTs
No more C-17s
No S-70Bs
No MGSs
No SOCOM
No Aerospace command
No Cyber command
No OROP
No LHD/LDP
No FICV
etc etc


I will let them off the hook with the Rafale because they have moved forward with this.


Now tell me what their successes have been?

The S-70B is stuck at critical price negotiations when the vendor hiked the price by 300% (for whatever reasons) ........ so you see, the priority got reassigned.

hahaha "for whatever reasons"? How about because the MoD and GoI have sat on their backsides so long that the price submitted by Sikorsky 4 years ago cannot be valid indefinitely and that too after Sikorsky have agreed to extend the price validity almost a dozen times! This is what happens when you have inept and painfully slow procurement system, you cannot blame Sikorsky for this situation. The NDA MoD would have been aware of this situation a year ago but STILL have not signed for this much needed helo, this is inexcusable in my opinion.

This Govt likes to pretend they are tough guys and take defence seriously but when you have PLA(N) subs probing into India's backyard (IOR) the IN is sending their BILLION USD destroyers and cutting edge ASW Corvettes to sea with EMPTY HANGERS or with ancient Sea Kings they hardly look anything but weak! Is this situation is acceptable to you?

DAC is the body to determine priority so I trust it better than fanboys on pdf. Don't let your Hubris convince your otherwise.

Except many of the above deals have had DAC clearance but it is the CCS and or the Fin Min who are now sat idle on these deals. Once a deal has DAC clearance it should be signed within a few weeks or months at the most, now the DAC is churning out clearances but nothing is moving- this is a clear failure on the GoI's part.