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.
This book is a compendium of papers presented and circulated in the International Seminar on Defence acquisition organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on July 12-14, 2011. Written by the practitioners, industry leaders and subject experts, the book brings out the best international practices in defence acquisition.
Some of the provisions in the DOG do not seem to be well thought out, provide greater leeway to the foreign companies, and have a potentially negative potential on eligible manufacturing sector, particularly defence manufacturing.
The ordnance factory organization has grown over the years and now consists of 39 factories with two more being set up. The organization, which dates back to the eighteenth century, has however not been able to rise up to the expectation of its prime customer. The paper argues that for the organization to be able function more efficiently, its management needs to be corporatised, as suggested by many, particularly the Kelkar Committee.
An expansionary fiscal policy has been the prime mover for the large increase in the budget of the defence ministry, which would otherwise have come under severe budgetary pressure.
The intention of the JV guidelines notwithstanding, the policy document suffers from certain weaknesses which may impact its objective of enhancing national defence industrial capability.
Notwithstanding positive developments over the last decade, certain grey areas in industrial licensing and FDI policy need further improvement to facilitate the private sector’s more meaningful participation in the Indian defence industry.
F-35 is not an ideal choice because of the delay in its developmental schedule, a tight production line, prohibitive cost, India’s own efforts to jointly develop and produce a fifth generation fighter with Russia, and little technological or industrial benefits that would accrue.
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.