Editorial: Boosting defense capex

Long delays in domestic procurement will offset localization-driven goals

Hyderabad: At a time when India faces dual threats from its hostile neighbors – Pakistan and China – challenges facing the defense sector, such as excessive delays in procurement of required weapons, lack of coordination among stakeholders and insufficient budgetary allocations must be prioritized . Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence, in its latest report to the House of Commons, rightly identified the concerns of the armed forces and called for an increase in the army’s capital budget. This will greatly enhance deterrence capabilities to meet any external challenges. While DoD’s efforts to indigenize military platforms are commendable, long delays in domestic acquisitions will only defeat the purpose of the indigenization process. Of particular concern is the delay in the supply of 40 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) by public sector enterprise Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The Tejas LCA – an all-weather, multirole fighter that can be deployed for offensive air support, close combat and ground attack – is critical to the country’s military readiness. The acquisition of more fighter jets should not be delayed any longer. It is inexcusable that the design, systems and weapons of the premier fighter jet remain unresolved. The union budget for 2023-24 is also a major disappointment, with insufficient capital expenditure for modernization and infrastructure development. It has fixed at Rs 1.62 trillion, a modest increase of 6.7% from the previous year.

Arranging sufficient funding is one of the prerequisites to ensure that defense modernization and indigenization projects are not delayed. The optimal, time-bound use of these funds must also be prioritized. It is necessary to allocate committed liabilities and new programs separately under the capital budget for defense modernization. Another area of ​​concern is the huge import bill. A parliamentary group has asked the government to come up with ways not only to reduce imports but also to boost exports of local products. Incentivizing indigenization can help reduce the armed forces’ dependence on foreign resources. The key is to deliver the aircraft and weaponry within the deadline. In 21st century warfare, the focus is on staying ahead of the curve with cutting-edge technology and readily available weapons. The shortage of funds has always been a persistent problem in the modernization process of the Indian army. Rising security challenges require corresponding defense readiness, but India’s defense modernization process has been slow for years. A lack of budgetary allocations has forced the armed forces to prioritize filling critical gaps first. Most weapon systems and platforms are aging as some of them were acquired in the 1970s.