Money and defence

The demand for a hike in the defence budget has got a fillip with President K.R. Narayanan making a forceful plea for it in his Independence Day-eve address to the nation. Ever since the Kargil intrusion opened the nation8217;s eyes to the inadequacies of the defence forces in terms of weapons and equipment, the clamour for increased defence allocations has been gaining ground. If the present allocations are compared with those of other countries in the region, there is undoubtedly a strong case for an upward revision. This is particularly true in relation to Pakistan, which spends about 6 per cent of its GDP on defence when India8217;s is pegged at a lowly 2.3 per cent. But does better allocation of money alone improve the condition of the armed forces? For instance, if the allocation is suddenly increased to 3 per cent of the GDP, as has been suggested by some defence experts, the forces would suddenly be in possession of additional funds to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore which, by any yardstick, is a huge sum ofmoney. They may even have a problem spending such large sums of money unless the allocations are gradually increased to that level over a period of time. If anything, it shows there are no simple solutions to the problems the defence forces face. It is, therefore, a question of how well the money is spent, not how much is spent.

Some reports from the Kargil war front maintained that Indian jawans were at a disadvantage because their Pakistani counterparts had better snow boots, lighter weapons and better night vision equipment. It is a different matter that despite such material advantages, the Pakistanis had to eat humble pie when they faced a more united, disciplined and professional army like India8217;s. While the technological gap between the two forces has to be plugged, what is equally important is to review India8217;s defence preparedness and address its inadequacies. The Arun Singh committee, appointed by V.P. Singh, went into the question of putting in place a system whereby defence resources areoptimally used, eliminating wastage and duplication in the process. Its suggestions must be implemented forthwith. If there is a dichotomy in the perceptions of the armed forces and those manning the defence ministry, it is a pointer to a fundamental divide. The fallout of such a divide can indeed be costly as was borne out by the differences between the defence forces and the ministry, which eventually led to the sacking of former naval chief, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat. At the root of the problem is the feeling that defence does not get the priority it needs as otherwise the Pakistanis might not have intruded into the Indian territory.

Of course, the BJP-led government has taken some bold steps to accord defence the importance it merits. The constitution of the national security council and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee8217;s announcement on Sunday about the induction of Agni-2 should ordinarily have helped remove the armed forces8217; feeling of neglect. But if such a feeling persists, it only stresses theneed for a holistic approach to strengthening the defence preparedness of the nation through the optimal use of resources, however inadequate it may be. There can be no short cuts in achieving this.