Archive data: Person was Research Fellow at IDSA till September 2020 |
Dr. Laxman Kumar Behera joined MP-IDSA in September 2006. He specialises on issues related to Arms Procurement, Defence Offsets, Defence Industry, Military Spending, and Export Control. Dr. Behera has authored numerous policy-relevant research publications. His book Indian Defence Industry: An Agenda for Making in India provides a comprehensive analysis of India’s evolving arms manufacturing sector. Dr. Behera has given numerous talks on defence, security and finance related issues in prestigious training and academic institutes, including College of Defence Management, National Academy of Defence Production, National Institute of Financial Management and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Dr. Behera was closely associated with several high level Committees set up by the Ministry of Defence to examine Defence Acquisition and Defence Expenditure. He worked as a Consultant to the Taskforce on Defence Modernisation and Self-reliance, constituted by the National Security Council Secretariat. The Report, presented to the Prime Minister, had been the basis for several reforms carried through the Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP). He has been part of three IDSA study teams that prepared reports for the Seventh Central Pay Commission; Expenditure Management Commission, Ministry of Finance; and Director General (Acquisition), MoD.
India’s Revised Defence FDI Policy
Under the earlier policy, the foreign portfolio investment in Indian defence industry was either banned, or capped at an arbitrary level for certain companies, causing a lot of dissatisfaction among several listed Indian companies which had pleaded their genuine helplessness in controlling such investments given their nature of flow.
India’s Interim Defence Budget 2014-15: An Appraisal
The 10 per cent growth in the interim defence budget although looks impressive from outside, it has a poor outlook on the modernisation front. Much of the hike in the interim budget is consumed by the increase in salary, leaving very little to meet the defence modernisation requirements.
Arms Trade Offset: Global Trend and ‘Best’ Practices
Chairperson: Shri V. K. Misra
Discussants: Shri A. K. Ghosh and Shri Amit Cowshish
Run up to the Defence Budget 2014-15: Challenges to Modernisation
It is commonly viewed that in an election year, the incumbent government is tempted to present a populist budget. In that scenario, the MoD would have reasons to be unhappy, particularly so when the modernisation requirement of the armed forces has reached a stage which is now contingent upon substantial additional resources to remain on course.
Defence Innovation in India: The Fault Lines
Defence Offset Guidelines: Time to Correct the Imbalance
The Office Memorandum has created a debate among various stakeholders, particularly the Indian IT and software-related companies which see a loss of business to the tune of $10 billion.
Indian Defence Industry: Issues of Self-Reliance
The monograph makes an attempt to estimate India’s defence self-reliance index, which has been a subject of intense debate in recent years. It also surveys the key recommendations of various high level committees set up by the Indian government post the Kargil conflict. The monograph concludes with key policy measures to revitalize India’s moribund defence industry.
Amendments to DPP-2011: An Analytical Overview
On April 20th, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Ministry of Defence announced 15 major amendments to the defence procurement and production policies, with the hope to incentivise indigenous defence manufacturing while promoting transparency and efficiency in the procurement process.
LAAD Exhibition: Showcase of Brazilian Self-Reliance
Like many other developing counties, Brazil also believes in self-reliance in arms manufacturing and has articulated comprehensive national defence policy with a strong support of its armed forces. There could possibly be some lessons for India.
India’s Defence Budget 2013-14: A Bumpy Road Ahead
A GDP growth of less than seven per cent combined with the fiscal consolidation path that the Finance Minister has articulated in his budget speech means a lot of pressure on the defence ministry whose plan for current and future expenditure up to 2017 is based on past GDP growth rate of 8 to 9 per cent.