Improving Indian Defence - Inputs on Solutions

Dear Friends:

Below are some of the key Root Causes and Issues as identified by you for the current state of Defence sector in India.

Please review them and help identify specific solutions to them.

Based on your solutions, we will put a whitepaper together for submission to the Defence Minister and other related Government Departments.

I look forward to your participation!
Rajendra Pratap Gupta

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State of Defence – Root Causes

1. Lack of long term planning
2. Defence sector has not been restructured in recent years
3. R&D sector of defence is lagging behind time
4. Minimal investment in research and development (R&D) for technology up gradation
5. Lack of coordination between government, armed services, defence labs, academic institutes and industry
6. Lack of research on defence policy (both strategic and technical)
7. Not enough opportunities given to the private sector to contribute
8. Delays in development by defence labs and delays in absorbing developed technology by armed forces
9. DRDO operations have been mismanaged
10. Same rank-same salary yet to be introduced
11. Young men from poor families join defence mostly for money
12. Communication system, food storage systems are outdated
13. Soldiers don’t get the social position and respect they deserve
14. The infrastructure is poor in most remote places where the army works
15. Our intelligence network is weak
16. Our Emergency Services and Quick Reaction Teams are still weak
17. Politicians try to make money for themselves in every defence deal, directly or through middle men


Defence Sector - Key Issues

1. Dependency on defence imports is very high
2. Production of defence equipment in our country is very little
3. Defence bodies are spending more but achieving less
4. Many scams take place under the name of defence deals
5. The procurement, purchasing & payment release processes are not transparent
6. Defence vehicle factories are very inefficient
7. DRDO does not deliver what is expected out of it
8. Progress of DRDO has been very slow
9. Deadline to complete defence projects are never achieved
10. Private companies are not allowed to enter the defence sector
11. Fencing along the border is easily infiltrated
12. Armed forces still uses outdated weapons
13. There is too much political encroachment in defence matters
14. Middle men flourish in defence deals
15. Defence Recruitment process is corrupted
16. Quality of talent inducted into defence forces is not great
17. Bureaucrats in order to prove their supremacy, create hurdles in defence preparedness more