India Redefines its Role by Shekhar Gupta

Author:Shekhar Gupta [Gupta, Shekhar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, General, Strategy, Political Science, Security (National & International)
ISBN: 9781136041686
Google: 4T_aAAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-09-13T01:18:45+00:00

Impact On Defence Industry And Procurement

The impact of budgetary cuts and the unfavourable exchange rate has been compounded by the Soviet collapse. For the defence establishment, the loss of Moscow as an ally means the loss of the old terms of armament purchases: nominal prices, barter and rupee payment with easy credits. This causes further problems with supplies of spares, ammunition and fulfilling maintenance contracts. Practically all the Army's frontline armour and mechanised units use Soviet-made equipment. This also forms an important part of the artillery and constitutes the entire anti-aircraft artillery including the panoply of surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries. All but seven of the 43 IAF squadrons use versions of MiGs, Ilyushins and the Miseries helicopters, and most of the Navy's submarine and destroyer/ missile boat division is built around Soviet equipment.

Given the large build-up of stocks and the traditional reliance on Soviet equipment, it is difficult for India suddenly to find other sources of weapons procurement. And if this is unavoidable, where is the cash to pay for wholesale replacement of equipment, especially at Western prices? India, characteristically, is looking for a middle path. High-level delegations have been sent to Russia and other former Soviet republics, particularly Ukraine, to ensure supplies of ammunition and spares. Indeed, a promise was made by Russian President Boris Yeltsin on his visit to India in 1992 and repeated during Rao's visit to Moscow in July 1994. However, even the conservative Indian establishment has finally accepted the need to resort to unconventional measures, such as sending delegations to buy spares for cash in dollars. The services of private export-import houses have been requisitioned to maintain Russian/Eastern bloc arms supplies as businessmen, operating in the region for decades, have better contacts at the dealer level and an understanding of Soviet business practices. India has no option but to try to maintain the tenuous Russian supply-line, and this was one of the main items on Rao's Moscow agenda.

It was a measure of the confusion prevailing that while Indian forces were desperate for supplies, several independent companies attempted to sell equipment to India. Notable among these was a proposal by the Indian government for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, a state-owned company, to undertake the $100m retrofit of nearly a hundred MiG-21bis in frontline IAF squadrons to upgrade their avionics, range and radar. Indicating its hope of continuing the highly useful relationship with Moscow, India has preferred the Russian offer despite competitive bids from elsewhere, particularly Israel. India also agreed in principle to buy another 30 MiG-29s, including six two-seat trainers. The Navy, too, is seriously looking at the 44,000-tonne Ukrainian aircraft carrier as a replacement for INS Vikrant, which is overdue for retirement.

The sizeable domestic armament industry has been crippled. The heavy vehicles factory at Avadi near Madras, with the capability to make 400 T-72 tanks a year, now has orders for barely 75. Similarly, the factory at Medak, in Andhra Pradesh, built to produce 350 BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles annually, has orders for merely 100. The Army needs more pieces, but has no money to buy them.

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