Vijay Divas - Are we doing enough for our armed forces?

One of the first songs that we hear on days like today is the famous "Ae mere watan ke logon, zara aankh mein bharlo paani" by the evergreen Latadi and no matter how many times I listen to it, it still gives me goosebumps. The song is used to commemorate our brave armed forces and beyond such token symbolism, our government, irrespective of the party in power, does not keep in pace with modern times to reward them.

Except for the 1962 war against China there has not been a single war which we have lost. And we could have saved our face even against China had Jawaharlal Nehru not goofed up as per a former air force chief and used our Air Force. But save that for another day. Our armed forces have shown exemplary behaviour in not being the provocation for foreign forces but at the same time has the capability to give a fitting reply. From the 1971 war (if the film Border is even remotely similar to it, it is a great achievement) to the recent retaliation in Myanmar, the Indian forces have never failed. Forget wars, even in times of natural disasters like the Uttarakhand floods the armed forces ensure that civilians like us are safe no matter what happens to them. That is the level of their commitment and dedication. But have we given them enough? And the answer is a resounding NO.

Unfair Treatment:

While the latest budget for the armed forces is nearing 2.5 lakh crore, as a percent of GDP it is just 1.7%. This is much less than the 2% of China, 3% of Pakistan and almost 2% below the Israel (which has similar conditions like us) and Russian budgets. Critics may argue that in absolute terms, it is a huge number but such low spending affects on the future capabilities of the armed forces. As if the slower-than-a-snail process to modernize and indigenize during the 10-year UPA rule was not enough, the present NaMo government, though big on announcements and vision, has not yet shown concrete results. The likes of Rafale jet deal is something which should be done more. Buy some off the shelf and manufacture the remaining in India under the Make in India campaign. 

Out of this humongous budget, a good part goes towards the salaries and pension of the armed forces (in spite of OROP not been implemented though it should have been much earlier), and thus it leaves very little behind for modernization. This has led to our armed forces using outdated weapons risking their lives further and demoralizing them. It can be seen from the latest numbers disclosed by Manohar Parrikar in the Parliament that the defence forces faces a shortfall of more than 11,000 officers of which 90% is in the Indian Army. And it would take a good decade to fill in this vacancy. So this means that our battalions will keep reducing as there are no majors to guide them. What a shame for the second highest populous nation to have such a distinction! In addition to the personnel shortfall, the Army does not have ammunition beyond 20 days in case of a full blown war. The politicians may slug it out in the Parliament against each other, but they are not the ones to protect the borders in case of an emergency - it is the armed forces. So it is a wake-up call for our government.

The Air force has its own problems. Training mishaps on the MiG-21 are common with loss of finest pilots. Furthermore we have just 30-odd squadrons instead of the designated 42-44 squadrons. And with planes dating back to the 60s and 70s this will further reduce, heavily affecting the air force. It is a matter of concern due to recent bonhomie between Pakistan and China where China is supplying modern fighter jets to Pakistan while our Tejas Mark II is still a long way before induction. For the navy, losing INS Sindhurakshak and 18 valuable soldiers has further crippled it along with an ageing fleet of outdated submarines leading to regular outbreaks of fire in the past two years. How are we supposed to thwart a threat from a superior Pakistani navy and 50+ strong fleet of Chinese nuke subs? And all this because our DRDO is not able to innovate and produce on time. Call it the bureaucracy or financial problem or a defence minister who for years did not sign files for the fear of being called corrupt (A.K.Antony still remains an honest politician in the otherwise corrupt Congress which fulfils his purpose of not being termed corrupt), the fact is we have a problem as a country when it comes to our armed forces. How long can we ignore it?

Talking of ill-treatment of our soldiers, the government leaves no stone unturned to trouble the soldier's kin after his death. There is a long list of benefits for the next of kin of the martyr but the kin has to run to a number of government departments and wait for years before they get that benefit. In a bizarre incident in Chhatisgarh last year, the CRPF jawans were retrieved from a garbage dump at the Raipur government hospital. This was after an earlier incident in 2011 when policemen who were killed in a Naxal attack in Dantewada were transported in municipal garbage truck. They guard us and we literally dump them!! 

Another reason why the money intended for the forces is wasted and they do not get the best treatment is corruption. Our politicians who have not left education, cricket, telecom, real estate, coal and even toilet paper made sure that they do the same with the armed forces. So be it the Adarsh scam or the Sukna land scam, it was ultimately the brave heroes of our country and their kin who had to suffer. Even retd Gen VK Singh was offered a bribe of ₹ 14 crore for purchase of sub-standard Tatra trucks. And the case of Bofors is well documented. We must hang our heads in shame!!

Way Forward:

The only way forward to ensure that the men who ensure our peace are rewarded adequately is to modernize the forces so that loss of lives is minimal. Corruption in the armed forces should be curbed which is easier said than done. But the idea of Joint Chief of Staffs is an idea worth considering. This will give the armed forces greater autonomy as well as increase the co-ordination between the three primary forces which work in silos at present.

Another way is to corporatize the functioning of DRDO and deadlines must be set to deliver results. We have the best of brains, it is time to use them to secure our future. To ensure that DRDO alone does not have the entire responsibility, private players must be taken on board as partners to encourage R&D in this sector. This has already started but the 49% cap stops foreign players from entering India. Give them majority ownership but design rules that the profit must be used to enhance capabilities in India and the government can supersede the Indian company in case it is found to violate the sovereignty and freedom of India. We are the largest importer of arms in the world and financial concerns should be last thing when deciding ownership - we anyway remit too many dollars because of this. 

The perception of the armed forces has taken a beating because of which we do not see many graduates not applying for vacant positions. Once the conditions are improved, I have no doubt that the famed youth of this country will throng to serve the country. 

I am reminded of the dialogue from the film Baby where Danny in response to the minister's question "are we doing enough for them" says, "Kahan sir, but the fact is they don't really care". True, that the armed forces selflessly serve the country and will not shy away from taking a bullet to save it. But this does not mean we take them for granted. Else there will be a time when we will be the largest importer of foreign soldiers in addition to foreign arms - that is if we retain our freedom! Hopefully the government takes cognizance of this issue and follows up on what it has promised. I still choose to be optimistic. Jai Hind! 

Fixing Laws for Make In India

From NaMOBama to IndiAmerica and other such portmanteaus used in the past couple of days to ironing out differences over the N-deal and agreeing cooperation on the climate talks to be held in Paris in December this year this visit by POTUS has been making headlines every single minute if not second.  News channel went ga-ga over Michelle Obama's dress and Narendra Modi's wardrobe.  But that's regular for us now - Indians love 'masala' in their food as well as news and MBA has taught me that an average report when wrapped in a good presentation makes wonders.  Or as they say "A little showbiz never hurt anyone".

As I write this, Obama has announced billions of dollars of investment - from loans to renewable energy and project financing to invoking Gandhi on religious tolerance in India in the National Prayer Breakfast. But as my journalist sister says, "Everything on TV is good to look at, not enough to believe", I would not take everything that they said to fructify.  And the reason is not the intent to not do but the inability by the Centre to implement its plans.  Even if the Centre decides to implement a good thing, the Opposition will stay true to its meaning - oppose blindly and that holds true for the ruling party as well.  If a law is luckily passed by the Centre then it faces hurdles at the State as they have enough provisions to extract money from the Centre in the form of "special packages" in return for approval.   

Though Sagarika Ghose called the metallic lion "YIKES", it caught the eye of each and every viewer. And for Modi to deliver on his "Make in India" , "Digital India" and "24x7 Power" campaigns, he has to lay a strong foundation - he has the numbers in the lower house and its only a matter of time before he gets a majority in the Upper house.  The foundation is change in laws and this needs to be addressed before embarking on this ambitious plan.

Manufacturing:

The manufacturing sector is plagued with problems.  Labour Acts, Land Acts and even tribal Acts act as major hurdles.  Labour force the government to stop modernisation plans, threaten to strike if wages are not raised - basically stop anything that would take away their freedom and force them to work efficiently.  Government institutions have become resting homes for them and any move, even the talk of it, arises so much protest that it becomes difficult to bring about modernisation. Take the example of the incident in Chhatisgarh (http://goo.gl/6IjhyE) where due to a provision in the Forest Act (2006) many of the dozen coal blocks are in jeopardy. The coal block ordinance which did not attract any criticism will face trouble due to this act. And the list for such laws is endless.  Recently, the law ministry ordered repealing many redundant acts dating back to the 19th century. If this is the case then I guess it will be a sorry state of affairs in India.  All laws should be re-looked once in a couple of years and no government should review the laws less than twice in its 5-year term.  But this is after the laws are simplified with no grey areas - it should be either black or white.

Telecom:
It's been a good two and a half years since I graduated as a Telecom engineer but the love refuses to die down.  So it is difficult to see the sector in doldrums. High debt compels telecom operators to cut down on expansion (and it is a pain for the banks as well), spectrum scarcity shoots prices up in all the auctions and creates problems for the customers as well. The government can auction enough spectrum so that the government can fill its coffers and telecom operators can freely expand to the hinterlands with the savings that are made in the auctions. To ensure the latter, conditions can be laid when spectrum is awarded. From my personal experience, not having a net connection these days is a pain in the wrong place. If India has to grow and beat countries like China and USA, last mile connectivity is a must. But sadly it is our inefficient, state-run behemoth BSNL that has to do this single handedly. The best way to bring reforms in the sector would be to give BSNL a corporate-like makeover. This will make BSNL an acquirer from the target. And in the interest of the sector not more than 6 players including the state run entity should be allowed. This will kill cartelization yet keep rates low. On the other hand, manufacturers like Micromax and Lava should be given support to buy marquee brands like Sony if they are planning to spin-off their mobile division as per an article in Reuters in mid January. This will help manufacturing here, increase jobs and save on forex outflow due to import of handsets. But for this lending rules will have to be changed as banks cannot lend beyond a certain percentage to one sector.

Banking & Finance:
The best reform that I can state from my personal experience in this sector is the introduction of the RuPay cards. I was pleasantly surprised when I could use my local (Mumbai) bank's ATM card to pay at an outlet in Hyderabad. This was not earlier possible and helps a long way in financial inclusion. If a bank which has 50 odd branches across Maharashtra and Goa and predominantly in Mumbai can give me alerts and it is possible that I can use its ATM card anywhere in the country then think about the potential if a system developed where all the major cooperative banks serving the rural areas are connected and account holders given RuPay debit cards for easy use, the amount of money that will come into the system will be enormous as farmers have huge amounts of tax free income. It will also benefit the larger banks as they will not have to open loss-making branches in the rural areas leaving them to focus on high margin urban markets. But this will require changes in the Banking Regulatory Acts to ensure there is uniform implementation across the sector. Hope the PMJDY addresses these issues.

Defence:
Until foreign companies are not allowed majority ownership of Indian operations, they will not invest in India. And more than outsourcing of manufacturing, India needs technology to be able to give a fitting reply to Pakistan and China at one go in case the 'all-weather' friends decide to launch an assault together. For this we will have to open the gates by raising the FDI and allowing the private sector to build and supply equipment to the armed forces. The private sector is known to be efficient and honour its commitment on delivery time if the government does not keep throwing spanners in the implementation of the original contract.

These are some of the sectors which require a complete overhaul of rules and it is a great opportunity for the Narendra Modi government to wipe the slate clean and start afresh so that India can truly achieve a dominant status by the years that the rating agencies have expressed as opinions. We need to have clear rules if we want India to produce its own Alibaba, or maybe bigger.