Indian Army Archives - Page 6 of 11

Ethics and Morals in the Armed Forces: A Framework for Positive Action

Value systems form the spine of modern society, religion and every individual’s conscience with moral codes defining ‘appropriate’ and ‘expected’ activity. Ethics refer to an individual’s actions that are consistent with such value systems. While the former constitutes a basic human marker of right behaviour and conduct, the latter are a set of guidelines that define acceptable behaviour and practices for a certain group of individuals or society.

Institutional Challenges Confronting the Indian Armed Forces: The Moral and Ethical Dimension

The phenomenon of the apparent lowering of both personal and institutional moral and ethical standards in the armed forces is not limited to India. What is missing is an open debate on the complexities that drive the modern day profession of arms and the need for a mutually supporting relationship between the armed forces and the institutions of a democracy, especially at a time when newer forms of security threats are emerging.

Changing Socio-economic Norms and its Impact on India’s Armed Forces

The Indian Army remains rooted in an outdated, British-inherited system that is struggling to cope with the combination of challenges posed by demands of modern warfare and a society that is undergoing a great churn. The greatest challenge has been to the famous officer–men relationship in the Indian armed forces. In the past decade, the armed forces have faced a new problem: increasing incidents of indiscipline, suicides and fratricide. Are these incidents happening because the traditional bond between officers and men, the bedrock on which the military functions, is fraying at the edges?

Needed: A Better Appraisal System for Better Leaders

There has been a palpable decline in the standards of morals, ethics and values as observed by officers in the armed forces and the bond between officers and men has weakened. This could be because officers with the requisite qualities are not adequately groomed to rise to the level of battalion commanders. The present appraisal system is largely to blame, it being based on a single Annual Confidential Report. A further drawback is that only superior officers report on a ratee. Inputs for appraisal need to be drawn from multiple sources geared towards a ‘360 degree evaluation’.

‘Strength One’ on the Moral Highway

The erosion in moral values in the armed forces over the past few decades has left India’s political and military leadership bewildered and befuddled. No amount of preventive or curative measures appear to be succeeding in arresting this fall, as day after day dawns with news of fresh instances of impropriety and indecorum. This article attempts to examine the issues of morals and ethics as relevant to the profession of soldiering across the time continuum. It dwells further on the probable causes of the erosion of moral values and ethics in the Army.

Military Deployment in Afghanistan is not in India’s National Interests

India, as a responsible regional power, should steer Afghanistan towards political stability, security through an inclusive government, economic growth, reconstruction and regional integration, which is what that country needs the most.

Amar Ramdasani
February 22, 2013
IDSA Comments

Efficiency of Quality Assurance in Army Procurements

This article gives an overview of the evolution of Quality Assurance (QA) in army procurements as also various shortcomings in the contemporary principles and practices that cause delays in procurements and their possible solutions. The list of shortcomings is not exhaustive; however, due care has been taken to bring out the most important ones which need immediate attention. The causal factors of these shortcomings have been analysed and recommendations to overcome them have also been listed to make the QA practice more efficient and minimize delays due to QA.

Officers’ Promotion Policy in the Army

It is desirable that policies are not tinkered with after every change of command and are allowed to stabilise over a period of 5 to 10 years before they are reviewed for their efficacy.

Rumel Dahiya , Vivek Chadha
November 30, 2012
Issue Brief

Indian Army: Internal Challenges In Capability Building And Retention

The Army, being the largest service and fielding the largest array of equipment, needs to improve its own processes by carrying out an internal analysis and taking effective steps to speed up the procurement process.

Rumel Dahiya
October 11, 2012
Issue Brief

Revenue Procurement in the India Army Challenges and the Way Ahead

India’s defence forces have to be continually prepared with modernised assets and a well-planned and executed supply-chain network. This calls for a well-evolved logistics infrastructure. To achieve this, a close study of the extant procurement procedure, the process of allocation of the budget, and the lacunae therein, is necessary. This article ponders on the challenges or peculiarities faced during the revenue procurement process for the Indian Army. Defence procurement, unlike procurement or other departments, involves a deliberate and complex procedure.