Strategic Evolution of Indian Armed Forces

Geography is important for Indian defence. Indian Peninsula is a distinct landmass with half its territory landlocked, major mountain ranges in the North, and the other southern half surrounded by 3 different oceans. Such a distinct, versatile and difficult geographic perimeter is guarded and patrolled by the Indian Armed Force, prime guardians of national integrity and sovereignty. From guarding the world’s highest battlefield in Siachen, to being posted in the extremely hot Thar and other desert regions in the west, to patrolling the politically sensitive Indo-China Border region and Bangladesh border region in the Eastern part, to guarding the never-ending stretch of the Indian Coastline, the Armed Forces patrol the entire length and breadth of the country even with unforgiving weather conditions beating down on them.

Indian armed forces evolved into a world class group of fighting forces since independence to meet the fast-increasing security, intelligence and strategic needs of the country. It requires to be noted that we had inherited a military that had been created, trained and equipped by the British regime to protect and consolidate their interests only. From a British led and man-power oriented force to truly techno-mechanised security personnel, we have seen revolutionary changes in past 75 years. These changes didn’t come in a day or two, but by fighting different threatres of war from western desert to Europe, to the forest of Burma and matching and exercising with the mightiest and most modernised troops of Europe, America, Israel and others. In between, Indian armed forces also fought several wars, which also proved to be the best training for both military and political establishments.

As per some estimates, presently at third position in military might in the world, it was hard for the Indian army to imagine that in the span of 75 years, a poverty-stricken, fragmented and deeply traumatised country would emerge as a military powerhouse. This transformation required continuous reforms of the processes as to how armed forces should operate keeping in view the fast changes in the global military practices. Certainly, the evolving global and regional strategic environments and perceptions have helped us grow much faster in last 8 years, however the increased focus spurred by the recognition of the needs and fast political decision makings have truly transformed the Indian army during these years. Changes gaining much momentum with a lot of thrust on self-sufficiency in terms of defence productions, are something, that can easily be seen. India’s growing military prowess has also resulted in a more robust and adventurist foreign policy in last few years.

The Indian military, Navy and Air Forces all are undergoing rapid expansion and transformation. Not only armed forces have grown like anything, but now, India has a robust air force with most modern fighter jets capable of playing both defensive and offensive roles, as have been seen in recent years and the strength of the navy is also rapidly growing with the fast acquisitions and developments of aircrafts carriers, submarines and a number of other world class navel assets.

Women participation and induction has also increased in the armed forces unprecedentedly. The number of women officers are almost tripled in about 6 years. Till recently, women were only part of ground duty in the Indian Army but now, women are flying aircraft in the Navy and Air Force, and now the Indian Army has also opened the way for women pilots by starting the ‘Army Aviation course’. in 2021, 83 women had been inducted as Jawans for the first time in the Indian Army. It is also heartening to note here that three women officers have been granted the rank of lieutenant general or equivalent.

Furthering the reform, for the first time, some kind of reservation has been devised for the armed forces with the Centre announcing a 10% reservation for ‘Agniveers’ along with a 3-year age relaxation above the upper age limit in the recruitment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles under ‘Agnipath scheme’- an attractive and transformative defence recruitment scheme of the Government of India. Moreover, India is rapidly upgrading its defence capabilities with more than 93 military modernization projects worth more than 18.4 billion dollar currently in progress. That is something every Indian should be proud of.

Indian Defence Suiting up

Indian industries, especially the defence sector has grown leaps and bounds in the recent past, as country’s arms exports have grown nearly six times since 2014 i.e. from Rs. 1520 crore to a whopping Rs. 8434 crores. Ever since PM Modi launched the ‘Make in India’ initative in 2014, private industry players have displayed a newfound zeal and optimism to become vectors in erecting a self-reliant culture in Defence manufacturing. The government too went to lengths and relaxed norms, introduced well-thought measures, created a better ecosystem and breathing space for defence indigeneity in the country, all of which has resulted in reduced dependence of India on foreign-sourced arms and armaments.

In its efforts towards further bolstering the domestic defence ecosystem, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has recently amended Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 for all modernisation requirements of the Defence Services and Indian Coast Guard indigenously. According to this, the Indian defence forces will now have to source all their modernization requirements from the domestic defence sector, with the outright import of weapons and platforms being resorted to only as an exception with the ‘specific approval’ of the Defence Minister and the DAC. Other amendments include measures to reduce the ‘financial burden’ on the Indian Defence industry while maintaining financial safeguards. The requirement of IPBGs (integrity pact bank guarantees) has been dispensed with, for instance, and EMD (earnest money deposit) will be taken as bid security for all acquisition cases costing over Rs 100 crore. Besides, the total order quantity will be split between shortlisted vendors, wherever viable.

The move will largely encourage wider participation and broad base the indigenous defence manufacturing sector in the country and may help the government meet its defence export target of Rs 35,000 crore by 2025. To boost defence exports, the defence ministry has also been eyeing various contracts with different countries. These include the selling of two Dornier military aircraft to the state of Sri Lanka and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to Malaysia in a deal expected to be around $900. Both the aircrafts have been manufactured by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). India had also signed a $375 million deal to export the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to the Philippines in February this year. In December 2020, the Cabinet even gave a green signal to the sale of Akash missile systems to friendly foreign countries. MoD too has been signing defence deals with DRDO, BEL, HAL, Bharat Dynamics Ltd, etc. to acquire high-tech advanced multi-functional planes, drones, rifles, tanks to increase both country’s defence capabilities and foreign sellouts.

In what demonstrates India’s sharpened focus on getting a toehold in foreign defence markets, the government granted close to a thousand export authorisations last year, which was around four times the number approved five years ago. The approvals too have been given with speed and discipline. This resulted in attributing the nearly four-fold increase to the government’s export-friendly policies to tap new markets. Other big resolves by the government include revision of the 2016 Defence Procurement Policy into the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, giving ‘Buy Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured’ category the top most priority for procurement of capital equipment,enhancing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector, new norms for Rationalisation of the development process, renewed thrust on indigenisation of weapons and systems, and rescinding a section of the Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) list that will further the growth figures of defence exports.

Tourism in Military Establishments of past, present and future

Military Tourism, a not very widely used term so far, is gaining traction in more than one ways. It has historic, economic as well as strategic significance. Travel and tourism is not just a leisure activity anymore. With the advent of digital connectivity, many opportunities are opening up in the domain of tourism for employment too. Accoding to FY18-19 data, among the ten most popular monuments in India, in terms of number of visitors, stood the Agra Fort (2nd Rank with 5.2 lakh foreign visitors), Red fort (4th Rank with 1.26 lakh foreign visitors) and Shanirwada (Rank 7). All the three sites are enriched with India’s historical legends, showcasing especially its defence chronicles, mesmerising visitors with its militarical finesse and bringing tourism from both India and abroad.

War sites have always lured a section of tourists who find themselves drawn towards the thrill of understanding the past. For a history buff, these sites offer a great insight to events that have occurred in the past and have shaped the present & future of a country. Hence, various countries across the globe have leveraged on their past to attract tourists, which therefore contributes to the overall economy of the country. As defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently launched the BRO Tourism portal and also directed officials to devise a plan to promote ‘Defence Tourism’ in the country, India’s tourism growth is expected to rise exponentially.

The concept of Military Tourism was introduced by MESCO for the first time in India in 2016 as they starte ‘Veer Yatra’, offering civilians an opportunity to experience the brave and thrilling world of our heroic defence forces from up-close. MESCO provided tourists a chance to experience War Memorial, Army Workshop, Defence Academy, Naval Base, Warfare Centre, Military Management techniques, Art of War and Survival techniques. In 2019, the government decided to open the entire area from Siachen base camp to Kumar Post for tourism purposes. Other such fascinating defence sites include the Kohima War Cemetery, Nagaland, the Jallianwala Bagh in the National Capital, and the Wagah Border ceremony that is held daily for two hours, where the flag ceremony is conducted by both Pakistani Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF).

The world is marching on the roads of an unprecedented transition into an entirely new dimension of advanced living. And every such high-end technology or product is experienced first by either the military of the country or its youth. Defence sector is always keen to use emerging technologies to adapt to evolution and enhance their training & combat readiness. Many unique and useful technologies like RADAR, jet engines, satellite navigation, and a computer networking system that we now know as the internet today, have in fact, been invented by militaries, which later got adapted for civilian use. Thus, envisioning the growth and popularity of ‘digital defence tourism’ is also setting a place for itself in a world where people, especially young folks are engaged in using and enjoying their time on things like VR products and services, e-learning, digital photography, navigation, cyber collaborations, digital marketing and entrepreneurship and what not! Events like the annual DEF EXPO and Aero India, India’s India’s military aviation expo, also not only inspire common folks but propel the economic growth for the country in more ways than imaginable.

Extremely Cool in Extreme Cold

“No easy hope or lies
Shall bring us to our goal,
But iron sacrifice
Of body, will, and soul.
There is but one task for all
One life for each to give
Who stands if Freedom fall?” – These apt words were accompanying the viral video of an Indian soldier braving the snowstorm when guarding the border in an unflinching manner.

(https://twitter.com/proudhampur/status/1479505350323675136?s=20)

It is no wonder that every year Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents an indebted nation by celebrating Diwali with the Indian defence forces guarding the nation bravely. In 2014, PM Modi began the tradition when he paid a surprise visit to Siachen to celebrate Diwali with soldiers posted at the world’s highest battlefield (18,875-foot glacier) and saluted the role of the armed forces in guarding the country. In 2015, PM Modi was with troops at the Dograi War Memorial in Khasa in Amritsar and laid a wreath at the venue of one of the toughest battles fought and won by Indian forces on September 22, 1965. Then onwards he has been with Jawans at Kinnaur(HP) in 2016, Gurez(J&K) in 2017, Harsil (near Kedarnath) in 2018, Rajouri(J&K) in 2019, Longewala(Raj) in 2020, and Nowshera(J&K) in 2021.

These braves have been a constant source of inspiration for one and all. Recently, ‘Operation Blue Freedom’, an expedition by the people with disabilities from across India to the world’s highest battlefield, Siachen Glacier. The pioneering expedition has brought India on the global stage as a leader in empowering Divyangjan and set a benchmark for other nations to emulate. Simultaneously, the initiative has portrayed the skill and heart of India’s Armed Forces not only on the Battlefield but off it as well. The team of people with disabilities has been trained by ‘Team CLAW’, an elite team of Former Special Forces Veterans working towards creating ecosystems for people with disabilities to thrive.

Even the scientists and entrepreneurs are inspired – the Indian Army till recently, has been importing extreme cold weather clothing and several Special Clothing and Mountaineering Equipment (SCME) items for its personnel deployed in high mountain regions. DRDO has transferred the technology of indigenous extreme cold weather clothing system (ECWS) to five Indian companies, which will not only make India self-reliant in manufacturing this clothing system, but considering the widely fluctuating weather conditions, this three-layered clothing system will equip the Indian Army for undertaking continuous operations in glacier and Himalayan peaks. It is noteworthy that India takes care of the highest military battlefield on the earth – Siachen Glacier.

These and any other indigenously developed state-of-art defence technologies not only take India towards self-reliance in critical areas but will also equip our armed forces with the latest defence arsenals

It is important for every citizen of the world’s largest, most complex, and vibrant democracy to know more about national security and participate in the debate to enhance the availability of resources to meet budgetary requirements as well as training and fill the acute shortage of combat leaders. Democracy is alive only when territorial integrity is ensured by armed forces.

Start of Indian Defence Start-up Ecosystem

Building on the mantra of Atmanirbhar Bharat, India has added 44 unicorns in 2021 alone bringing the total number to 81. This exponentially growing number of unicorns is not only backing innovative solutions but also large scale deployments. India has become a hotbed of start-ups including some of the difficult domains like defence. The upcoming budget is likely to provide a breakthrough to the defence related start-ups which is a core area for an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Proof in the pudding is the DRDO’s pursuit of self-reliance and successful indigenous development and production of strategic systems and platforms, which have given quantum jump to India’s military might. DRDO’s recent launches include long-range Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo (SMART), Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile, Extended Range Pinaka (Pinaka-ER) Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System, Air version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, and Short Range Surface to Air Missile. Further, DRDO has recently transferred the technology of indigenous extreme cold weather clothing system (ECWS), three-layered and providing insulation upto -50 Celsius,to five India companies.

Around 200 Indian start-ups are seen to be committed to defence sector technology. One of the key domains for the full-fledged development of the defence start up ecosystem is a competitive defence equipment testing system. Presently the air-worthiness, sea-worthiness or the military-worthiness of any equipment is determined only by one institution CQIA. The dependence on just one institution that too at a much later stage of development of any military equipment is very expensive for research to reach production. Government has already paved the way for a competitive market by allowing DTIS, defence testing infrastructure scheme, whereby a requirement of a capital of 400 crores is projected to be invested in segregated labs. 75% of investment in any lab will come from Government of India and remaining 25% will come from private players. Even the involvement of private players has a requirement of minimum five members to participate for each lab constructing a section 8 company. These are expected to commence floater this year and completed in a timeframe of 24 months from then. After these labs are operational, any OEM or a start-up will have choices for testing, either to CQIA or any of DTIS established labs.

The last piece for a flourishing defence start-up ecosystem is the buildup of the order book. The upcoming budget is likely to provide for full 1000 crore in the form of orders for start-ups which is the requirement for sustenance of the ecosystem. Last year’s 1000 crore earmarking for Indian companies saw 498 crores to be given to iDEX start-ups which one hopes to be deployed by the end of the current financial year.