REBOOTING THE DEFENCE MINISTRY

The MOD is sick and needs shock therapy to move from paralysis; distrust; impediment; procedure bound to a benevolent and in-sync ministry.

Army has very serious problems on modernisation front and huge hollowness in existing crucial war winning equipment.

There is absence of strategic thinkers within the army or the nation.

Army is carrying on with British dresses/traditions/customs/battle honours/ history/messes/sahayak/language/other systems. This is in harmony with a colonial power where army was aloof in the cantonments to be used against the foreign/natives should the police be found wanting. The life was so organised that it was cocooned from civil society for fear of turbulence by civil leadership against the foreign powers. Thus the army was a stets within a state, having its own law/hospitals/transport/police/logistics. Some of it was necessary to maintain forces in the far flung underdeveloped frontiers in Afghanistan and other places of deployment.

There is a need for taking a deep holistic look at all facets of the Indian Defence Forces and making them truly in harmony with the national ethos and contributing positively towards nation building. There are three ways to usher in this change.

First is the incremental reforms which is an ongoing process but is extremely slow because of organisational inertia. Just to quote one example its taken the Army almost sixty years to switch over to the Indian salutations of Jai hind amongst officers. It was being followed far officers-men salutations and navy had switched much earlier.

The second is periodical review committees, we had Subramanium kargil review and Naresh chandra review committee. Both have been partially /hardly implemented depending on its acceptance to the MOD.

Third way is what the US calls a Blue Ribbon Commission. In this a commission of people with known integrity with no direct interest in the outcome is constituted. They are in turn free to solicit views/advise/opinions of best brains within /out and recommend the best practises. This is very efficiency way and one can see a commission headed by Ratan tata and Narayan Murty and few others s members doing this assignment. Radical for the Indian status quo mindset but has a great potential for deliverance rising above the narrow turfs.

The Indian Blue Ribbon Commission should focus at the following

Revamping the MOD/Service HQ. Overlaps to be cut-down by harmonising function. Scope of disbanding about ten percent flab. Ensure MOD and service HQ work in harmony rather than adversaries.

Move from procedures to output. Babudom is always weighted down by procedural requirements and not the outcome. Once accountability is properly laid down results will improve.

Ensuring experts manning the MOD- dedicated cadre/technocrats and ten, twenty and thirty percent from Navy/Air force/Army respectively. Remainder by experts/technocrats- some of the best brains may be inducted from universities/civil strata on tenure hired basis.

Indignation of newer equipment by enhancing R and D. Civil and IIT and DRDOs all work in harmony.

Enhancing the strategic thought and ideas for combating the future. Toffels book on this issue is an eye opener and the way they have gone about forecasting is simply superb. Analysing the past and talking to best minds from all fields in the international market, they have produced a superb way ahead. Our defence forces/R&D heads could take a leaf from that and it would be possible to be more realistic in our expectations.

Better financial management by reducing non plan expenditure.

CPOs retire at sixty, defence personnel at forty. Defence forces are burdened with heavy pension/health liabilities(one soldier has parents/wife and children till a certain age). The army can look at enhancing the age w/o compromising efficiency. The sedentary duties of services and some supporting arms can very well serve till sixty provided some one does the pushing. Lateral movement within the army from tougher arms to supporting arms to services with the increasing age is an option pretty well implementable.

In-house commission under CDS/service chiefs must look at the following

Stop abuse/misuse of perks and manpower.

Minimise financial wastages

Cultural/values/history being reviewed and in harmony with out glorious past rather than British victories.

Move from Clauswitz/Sun Zsu to Chankya/Krishna for quotes.

Restore empowerment in our culture/ethos

Contribute towards nation building. This could be done by releasing massive dormant resources for social good. Education and medical staff must spend two months in far flung frontiers where reach of the government is still not there. Forces stationed in peace stations must devote two months for nation building. The task could be identified by the army in conjunction with local authorities. Adopting villages/open spaces for afforestation would go along way.

Open sports facilities for outstanding sports person.

Aim for excellence in international sports and other activities

Encourage thinking rather than status quo.

Change is the talk of the nation and everyone is expecting things to improve post Narinder Modi's rise as the new Prime Minster of India. People, in/out of uniform must cease the opportunity and force a change which is good for the defence forces