Modi has done the right thing.
By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: When soldiers are confronted with empty shells to feed their tanks, hesitated for night operations and complained of obsolete air-defence mechanisms, the key organization responsible to keep India’s defence forces abreast with enough supply and technology, was busy developing a fancy battery-operated silver-chariot for a temple in Maharashtra.
The organization in contention –the Defence Research and Development Organisation, (DRDO) a government agency which proudly states ‘’dedicatedly working towards enhancing self-reliance in Defence Systems and undertakes design & development leading to production of world class weapon systems and equipment in accordance with the expressed needs and the qualitative requirements laid down by the three services,’’ had a rude shock. Its chief, 65-year-old Avinash Chander who joined the outfit in 1972, had been sacked by the government without a warning.
The government seems to be in the right track as the move is in tandem with the rapidly growing geo-political uncertainty weighing on India. The organization, administered by the Ministry of Defence, was headed by Chander, known for being the architect of India’s Agni missile series. He was re-employed in November for 18 months to continue as its head, in New Delhi.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi “approved the termination” of the contract of Avinash Chander with effect from January 31, an official notification said.
Chander had been formally appointed as DRDO head in May 2013 and had promised to take the organization to the next level, including developing the latest versions of the Agni missile, with a range of over 6,000 kilometers would be inducted in the armed forces’ arsenal by 2015.
The move did not come as a surprise to many. Consider these recent developments.
India’s former army chief, Gen V K Singh has gone on record to say that its tanks do not have enough ammo to fire, its ill-equipped land forces cannot fight at night and air-defenses are utterly obsolete. The army chief had accused the government of neglecting the country’s security.
If that was not enough, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also pointed out recently of the ‘’laid back’’ attitude of the DRDO with projects falling behind schedule. The private sector had also been complaining that many of its permits for manufacturing had been mired in red tap thanks to the DRDO.
As if to seal the fate of the DRDO chief, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was quick to point out: “I recommended this. We need someone young and didn’t want somebody on contract to be in such a senior post… the proposal went from my side to appoint new person as head of DRDO. I have not yet decided who will head the organisation.”
Coping up with hardly any indigenously developed military hardware, India shopped aggressively for weapons over the recent years. A Swedish research group said that between 2007 and 2011, the country had emerged as the world’s largest weapons importer.
There are other arguments doing the rounds that Chander could have fallen foul of the government on account of the accusation that the country’s top defence equipment research organization was scuttling talent due to a rigid hierarchy that allowed some scientists to keep getting extensions.
Chander had to face PM’s ire also because of the mess in the DRDO facing losses worth around Rs 29,000 crore due to time and cost overruns in acquisitions/developmental projects. For example, the indigenous Aircraft Carrier will now cost Rs 19,341 crore from its original cost of Rs 3,241 crore. Similarly, in case of the Stealth Guided Missile Destroyer, the cost has been revised from Rs 3,850 crore to Rs 11,662 crore and timelines have been revised from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Chander should have realized, before it became too late, that the country’s army need much more than silver chariots to fight the wars of the next generation.
(Rajiv Theodore is India Bureau Chief, The American Bazaar)