GEOPOLITIC COVER December:GEOPOLITIC COVER2.

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WHY ‘MADE IN AMERICA’ COSTS MORE?

geopolitics
VOL I, ISSUE VIII, DECEMBER 2010  `100

D E F E N C E  D I P L O M A C Y  S E C U R I T Y

MODERNISING THE
PARAMILITARY
INDIA AND RUSSIA
STILL GOING
STRONG

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ACQUISITION SCAM
PIPAVAV
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RIDING THE WAVES India needs quality warships to project its maritime power
Document1 11/1/2010 8:06 PM Page 1

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Contents December.qxd 12/1/2010 3:53 PM Page 2

COVER
STORY
P38

The sea power

Indian warships have been vital in guarding the
Indian Ocean over the years.

GLOBAL EYE (P33) SPOTLIGHT (P14)

STABILITY IN INDIAN OCEAN MADE IN INDIA

With increasing globalisation, the strategic significance of the It's high time for defence PSUs to develop indige-
Indian Ocean has grown manifold. nous products to compete with the best.

INTERVIEW (P46) DEF BIZ (P24) DEF BIZ (P18)

EXUDING CLASS
The Indian Military Academy continues to
be a world-class institution that turns boys
into men, Lt. Gen. Rajinder Singh Sujlana
tells GEOPOLITICS.
COSTLY AFFAIR DUBIOUS DEAL
Are US defence companies charging India Established procedures have been violated
more money for their products? in procuring detection equipments.

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Contents December.qxd 12/1/2010 3:54 PM Page 3

TRADITION HOLDS GENDER BIAS (P56) A BETTER ON TOP (P30)

STRONG (P68) Indian paramilitary forces still TOMMOROW (P60) Pipavav Shipyard is poised to
Defence relations between India remain a tough terrain for Indo-French ties are heading become grandeur on the scale.
and Russia have reaped rich divi- women. for a qualitative change.
dends for both the countries.

DIPLOMACY (P64)

DO WE MISUNDERSTAND
CHINA?
For the Chinese, dragon is a symbol of joy and happiness and has nothing to
be afraid of; likewise, China and its rise in the world are for global peace and
prosperity.

SPECIAL REPORT (P8)

g
Editor-in-Chief
WATER WARS
K SRINIVASAN
Editor
THE SHARING OF WATER
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Onlooker.qxd 12/1/2010 5:24 PM Page 4

gONLOOKER
THE EQUATION
AUSTRALIA AND the brief, clamp on exports
US welcomed each I believe we have a shared perspective of rare-earth minerals -
with the US that we want China to be a is clear.
force for good, strongly engaged in glob- “We obviously share
al and regional architecture, strongly the view that we want
engaged in a rules-based framework. to see China’s rise be
successful, bringing
JULIA GILLARD benefits to the Chinese
Australian PM people, but [want Chi-
na] to take on greater
oth- responsibility and a rules-
er’s additional civilian based approach towards all of its neighbors,”
and military contributions for Afghanistan Clinton said in Melbourne. And added:”We
during the recent Australia-US Ministerial are discussing that within Asean and the
(AUSMIN) summit in Melbourne. AUSMIN is
an important reaffirmation of the US-Aus-
tralian alliance by both nations. The talks We’ve been here for 100 years,” she said.
marked the 25th “You know, we’ve been here, we are here HAVE U.S. SANCTIONS
and we will be here. The United States is
anniversary of AUS-
MIN and the 70th both a Pacific and an Atlantic power. If AGAINST IRAN FAILED?
there were any question or doubt about MOJTABA SAMAREH Hashemi ,a foreign pol-
anniversary of the
our intentions, I hope that the last 20 icy expert and longtime confidant of
establishment of diplo-
months of the Obama administration Ahmadinejad's, said in a recent Washington
matic relations
has put those finally to rest. Post interview, a top adviser to President
between the two coun-
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that measures
tries. The annual meet-
ing between the two HILARY CLINTON designed to pressure Iran have been use-
US Secretary of State less.Hashemi said that actions such as the
countries’ foreign and
banning of Iranian ships from European
defence ministers replaced the former Anzus
ports, a fuel blockade against Iran Air and
talks 25 years ago after the nuclear rift of the Asean regional forum, as you know, when it
increasing financial restrictions have had "no
mid-1980s ended New comes to maritime securi-
noticeable effect" and that the failure of the
Zealand’s role in the ty and freedom of navi-
Our challenge now is one of the evolving sanctions has propelled the West to restart
three-nation alliance. gation.”
agenda of this body and how we make it talks - a direct contradiction of the U.S. view.
Gates said AUSMIN
work for the future so that all the coun- He said it is time for the United States and
had authorised an Aus-
tries of our region share a common, rules- other Western nations "to stop fooling them-
tralian-American
based order and abide by those rules. selves" over their effectiveness."The delay in
working group to
the negotiations has been a good opportunity
assess, in the context of
KEVIN RUDD the US Global Force
for the other side to realize the effects of its
Australia Foreign Minister political decisions," Samareh Hashemi said.
Posture Review, the
"We hope they will make the best use of" it.
options for “enhanced
Hashemi was referring to what Obama called
landmark nuclear talks with Iran over 18
We cooperate very fully with the United months back. More than a year has passed
Rudd and Clinton
States. There’s a prospect that may be since the last negotiations between Iran and
have already signed a
enhanced in terms of further and greater world powers, which were followed by
new “Melbourne State-
access. That’s a good thing. increasingly tough Western sanctions, mili-
ment” marking 70
tary threats and alleged technological attacks
years of diplomatic
relations and reaffirm-
STEPHEN SMITH on the Islamic republic's nuclear program.
Australian Defence Minister Iran has indicated that it will want to
ing a fundamental
broaden the discussions beyond its nuclear
commitment to the
program, asking its six counterparts to declare
two countries’ “enduring partnership”. Mean- joint activities”. This process was just starting
their positions on Israel's alleged possession
while, Clinton and but options included
of nuclear weapons and their commitment to
Gillard have been We would like to do things that in the more US force training
nuclear disarmament.Samareh Hashemi
careful not to cast eyes of the Australian people enhance on Australian soil,
elaborated on the issue. "If they do not state
our alliance, not create controversy more port visits, disas-
any response on these questions, it means
about it. ter relief co-operation
they have not chosen the path of friendship,"
and greater US regional
he said, adding that this would not preclude
ROBERT GATES naval presence.But
talks but would force Iran to take a tougher
US Secretary of Defence new bases were unlike-
position. "Not answering these questions will
ly. Gates said the US
mean they have decided not to commit to
had no wish to create
nuclear disarmament and support the Zionist
China as a threat, but “political difficulties” in Australia. The two
regime being armed with nuclear weapons."
concern at its growing nations signed an agreement on space surveil-
influence and military power - and its recent, lance co-operation.

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Onlooker.qxd 12/1/2010 5:24 PM Page 5

O N L O O K E R g
UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP
THE NEW BRITAIN AND France signed defense agree-
ments mid November that promised cooper-
to involve about 5,000 service members from
each nation, with land, sea and air compo-

DICTATOR? ation far beyond anything achieved previ-

ously in 60 years of NATO cooperation,
including the creation of a joint expedi-
nents, and rotating French and British com-
manders. The pacts also foresee each nation
alternating in putting a single aircraft carrier
HAS THE recent bombardment of a tionary force, shared use of aircraft carriers to sea, with the vessels operating as bases for
South Korean island by North Korea and combined efforts to improve the safety French, British and American aircraft in
something to do with the succession and effectiveness of their nuclear weapons. times of need.
saga in arguably the world’s number one For two nations that spent centuries con- The nuclear agreement was in some ways
totalitarian country? That is what lead- fronting each other on the battlefields of the most surprising, since it committed the
ing analysts all over the world seem to Europe, it remarkable indeed. two nations to sharing some of their most
agree, the argument being that by this The agreements envisaged a new com- carefully kept secrets. Although the two lead-
provocative action and the subsequent bined force available for deployment at ers emphasized that France’s “force de
justification North Korea is conveying to times of international crisis that is expected frappe” and Britain’s similar, submarine-
the rest of the world that the country’s based ballistic missile force would remain
new de-facto leader is firmly in com- separate and under the sole control of each
mand. The attack came just within six government, they agreed to establish joint
Photo courtesy: www.torontoglobalist.org

weeks of the North Korean supremo research centers, one in France and one in
Kim Jong Il unveiled his youngest son Britain, to further research on their stock-
Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent. piles of nuclear warheads.
Kim Jong-un, who is thought to be The cooperation pact was set to last 50
about 27 years old, was named vice- years and could transform the way the coun-
chairman of the Central Military Com- tries project force, fight wars and compete
mission of the ruling Workers’ Party and for defense contracts with the United States.
was appointed to its central committee. One goal appeared to be to give the two mil-
Kim has been given the rank of a four- itaries greater buying power to support the
star general. He attended recently a struggling European defense industry.
massive military parade marking the
65th anniversary of the communist
nation’s Workers’ Party in Pyongyang.
A generalship for Kim Jong-unwas a
Myanmar's unique record
prerequisite for his ascendancy to pow-
er. His father’s doctrine of songun - the MYANMAR IS now the only government still only 12 countries manufactured anti-person-
“military first” policy - has given the laying landmines after Russia stopped using nel mines, with three actively producing -
armed forces the leading role in the such weapons, campaigners said noting that India, Myanmar and Pakistan. Nepal was
political life of the country, even ahead 2009 marked the lowest usage of the deadly dropped from the list of producers. Neverthe-
of the Workers’ Party. Any future leader explosives in a decade. The International less, such mines are still laid by non-state
of North Korea will need a substantial Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) credited armed groups in six countries - Afghanistan,
military paragraph on his or her resume. the 1997 Ottawa international treaty banning Colombia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and
Kim Jong-un’s other significant new anti-personnel mines for the reduction in Yemen, noted the report. Landmines and
positions - he now has a seat on the par- usage. explosive remnants of war caused 3,956 new
ty’s Central Committee and is one of two Although no additional countries joined casualties in 2009,
deputy chairmen of the party’s military the Mine Ban Treaty in 2009 or the first half of although this is
commission - are seen as more purely 2010, the power of the international standard the lowest
political, policy-making postings. (The rejecting the weapon continued to be evi- annual total
National Defense Commission, a differ- dent,” said the group in its annual Landmine since the ICBL
ent body that is described in the nation- Monitor. Only one government - Myanmar - began monitor-
al Constitution as “the highest guiding newly laid antipersonnel mines, no state ing the issue in
organ” in the country, is led by Kim transfers of mines were recorded, and as 1999 and 28 per-
Jong-il.) few as three states were actively pro- cent lower than
ducing mines,” it said. in 2008.
This is the lowest level of
recorded use since the moni-
tor began reporting in
1999. For the first time,
Russia was not identi-
fied as an active
user.” However, the
report criticized
Venezuela, saying
it was the only sig-
natory not to
meet its obligations
to dispose of the mines. The report said

www.geopolitics.in December 2010

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WaterWar.qxd 12/1/2010 5:43 PM Page 60

g
GEOPOLITICS
SPECIALREPORT

THIRSTING
FOR WATER
Is the blow-hot, blow-cold assessment of
analysts in the perceived `water
differences` between India and China
justified? What is the real issue and how
can we resolve it? PIA MALHOTRA
examines the pros and cons

A
REPORT BY the Strategic Fore-
sight Group (28 June 2010), titled
‘The Himalayan Challenge’, out-
lines Indian and Chinese plans of
constructing over 200 big and
small dams on the Himalayan rivers — the
Yangtze, the Brahmaputra and the Ganges —
to meet their escalating water needs. Asia is a
region that is home to two of the fastest-
growing economies of the world, India and
China, and as reserves of oil dwindle, pres-
sure on alternative sources like hydro- power
is only expected to mount.
The report also mentions that as water
shortages increase, friction between the
countries could increase and potentially lead
to a conflict between India and China. Uttam
Kumar Sinha, an expert on climatic change
and water security at the Institute for Defence
Studies and Analysis, claims that China’s
intransigence on Tibet is linked to its need for
securing water resources. The Tibetan Plateau
also known as the “Third Pole” is a massive
storehouse of freshwater and is the headwa-
ters for all of Asia’s major rivers barring the
Ganges. China’s water resources are dwin-
dling and it is expected to fall short of its water
demands by 25 per cent by 2030.
Keeping conjecture aside, what is the
real nature of water issues between India and
China? Are they serious enough to cause a
conflict between the two? If yes, what pre-
cautions can be taken to obviate such a con-
frontation?
THE THREE ISSUES
Zangmu Hydroelectric Project: There are
essentially three water issues between India
and China. First is China’s Zangmu project in
Tibet, which is a ‘run of the river’ hydel gener-
ation dam on the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo in
China). The dam, which is expected to be
completed in 2015, is being constructed at a
place called Namcha Barwa on the eastern
plateau of Tibet and is going to be the world’s
largest dam with 26 turbines and is equipped
to generate 40 million kilowatts per hour of
hydroelectricity. It is believed the power out-
put could be twice the output of the famous
Three Gorges Dam.
India has reservations about this project,
which it fears would result in a decline in the

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WaterWar.qxd 12/1/2010 5:44 PM Page 61
flow of waters from the Brahmaputra. The Chi-
nese government however has assured India
that the dam does not have storage capabili-
ties and would not lead to a reduction in the
flow of the Brahmaputra in India. Moreover,
some Chinese engineers have suggested that
the dam could provide cheap electricity for
India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and could facili-
tate flood control in the Brahmaputra-Ganges
basin. A lingering issue that still persists in
India though is China’s reticence on the
project: China had denied building this proj-
ect till last year.
South to North Water Diversion Project:
The second issue between the countries and
the real concern for India is China’s ambitious
plans to divert water from its south to the arid
north. The ‘South to North Water Diversion
Project’ was first mooted by Mao Zedong in
the 1950s and involves diversion along three
main routes. The central and eastern routes
will not have any impact on India. The western
route, however, could affect the lives of mil-
lions in India’s northeast and in Bangladesh. It
will involve drawing water from several rivers
that originate in Tibet including the Tsangpo
and India fears this would cause a drastic
shortage of water for India. This project envis-
ages building a dam on the ‘great bend’ of the
Brahmaputra before it enters India. India
depends on the waters of the Brahmaputra for
its own hydroelectric projects. Taking out
“CHINA'S
INTRANSIGENCE
ON TIBET IS
LINKED TO ITS
NEED FOR
SECURING WATER
RESOURCES. THE TIBETAN
PLATEAU, ALSO KNOWN AS
THE “THIRD POLE”, IS A
MASSIVE STOREHOUSE OF
FRESHWATER AND IS THE
HEADWATERS FOR ALL OF
ASIA'S MAJOR RIVERS
BARRING THE GANGES.”
UTTAM KUMAR SINHA,
EXPERT ON CLIMATIC CHANGE AND WATER
SECURITY AT IDSA
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPECIALREPORT
“INDIA'S HULLABALOO OVER THE
WATER DIVERSION PROJECT IS
UNFOUNDED, AND EXCESSIVE
CLAIMS LIKE THESE ONLY
INCREASE THE MISTRUST
BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES”
BG VERGHESE,
LEADING WATER EXPERT IN INDIA
about half of the river’s water, which flows
through the centre of India’s northeastern
state of Assam, “would make the river a sea-
sonal ditch,” to quote analyst Rajiv Ranjan.
Of India’s hydropower potential of 150,000
megawatts (MW), 50,000MW are in the north-
east and Arunachal Pradesh, which are mainly
fed by Brahmaputra’s tributaries — Siang,
Subansiri and Lohit — support development
of 28,500MW hydro-projects. The Brahmapu-
tra accounts for 29 per cent of the total run-off
of all India’s rivers and its waters are also cen-
tral to India’s own ‘National River Linking Pro-
ject’, which envisages diverting waters from
the water surplus Himalayas to the water
scarce river basins of South and Peninsular
India. The project is currently in a limbo due
to concerns and reservations within the coun-
try, but if and when initiated, the Project
would be heavily dependant on the waters of
the Brahmaputra.
There are, however, Indian analysts who
believe that these aspersions are nothing more
than hyperbole. The Brahmaputra in reality is
a ‘smallish’ river before it enters India and it
picks up the bulk of its water in India itself.
“When the Brahmaputra enters India, it picks
up considerable waters from the Yangsang
Chu at Jidu, the Siyom and the Sipi at Yem-
bung and several others before it leaves the
hills at Passighat. Around this place, it more
than doubles its size with the waters from the
Lohit and Dibang”, wrote Gen. Raj Mehta in a
recent issue CLAWS Journal. Thus any decline
in waters of the Brahmaputra is the result of
Indian waters, not Chinese waters.
Dr. Srikanth Kondapalli, Associate Profes-
sor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, says that
even though the Brahmaputra picks up more
water from the Indian side, the fact remains
that the headwaters of the Brahmaputra are in
Tibet. If the origin itself is controlled, the scope
of any water reaching India is indubitably
ruled out.
China for its part claims that it has no
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plans of diverting the Brahmaputra and that
the Zangmu dam is not a storage dam and is
intended only for the generation of hydroelec-
tricity. It would not result in water shortages in
India. The Ministry of Water Resources in Chi-
na has been a Tower of Babel over this issue,
with many dissenting voices. China’s former
Minister for Water Resources, Wang Shucheng,
has said that the water diversion proposal is
“unnecessary, unfeasible and unscientific,”
and has no government backing.
China is skeptical about the project since
it would involve building a 300-metre-high
dam at an elevation of about 4000 metres,
which is technically impossible. Moreover, it
would be built in an earthquake prone zone
and also the delays and costs that were associ-
ated with the other two routes have already
generated suspicions about the third route.
These routes have lead to displacement of mil-
lions and are running much behind schedule.
Work on the western route has still not started
and China has not even conducted technical
and feasibility studies on this route. Chinese
engineers have also claimed that being a diffi-
cult terrain, there would be huge technologi-
cal challenges that would have to be overcome
for building this project.
The plans at this stage are, hence, clearly
nebulous. The Chinese officials and people are
anxious about the displacement, technical
and ecological costs of the Project.
In an exclusive interview to this writer,
BG Verghese, a leading water expert in
India, says that India’s hullabaloo over the
water diversion project is unfounded, and
excessive claims like these only increase
the mistrust between the two countries. He
states that China’s Zangmu project should
not be a concern for India, as it is only a run
of the river project and every country has
the right to build hydroelectric projects to
generate electricity for its people. Instead
of arguing over speculated projects, he
would like to see India and China finding
December 2010
WaterWar.qxd 12/1/2010 5:44 PM Page 62
ways of cooperating in the Brahmaputra
basin.
Absence of an Institutionalised Water
Sharing Mechanism: The third major issue
between India and China is the absence of a
water-sharing mechanism or water treaty
between the two countries, which makes a
resolution of a potential problem, highly com-
plex. For instance, India and Pakistan have
recently been quibbling over water issues, but
since their issues are within the framework of
the Indus Water Treaty, the countries have
institutionalised mechanisms like the Indus
Water Commission, third party arbitration,
and neutral expert intervention, to help miti-
gate any pestering problems. China and India
do not have a similar arrangement. As a result,
being the upper riparian, China has more
leverage on the issue and India feels that it
would be at China’s mercy during the dry sea-
son, and for protection from floods during the
rainy season.
The only agreement between India and
China are two MoU, but these are limited to
readings of water levels and do not include
agreements on river diversion. There is shar-
ing of hydrological data for three stations
(Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia), on the
Brahmaputra river, every year from 1st June
to 15th October. It was also agreed that the
upper riparian, China, would provide hydro-
data in times of crisis. There were flash
floods in Assam in 2004 and India requested
China for data on the quantity of water being
released by it. Initially this information was
being provided, but later China stated that
Indian officials would have to pay for the
water readings, which invariably tended to
be on the higher side, if Prof Kondapalli is to
be believed.
India’s former National Security Adviser,
MK Narayanan had told The Hindu,
(October 20, 2009) that India has been fol-
lowing a “trust but verify” approach on the
Chinese diversion project. “Our information
is, and satellite pictures also show, that there
is no work which has taken place,” he said.
“As of now, we have not seen any evidence of
them doing the great bend so to say.”
The third issue of the lack of a water
treaty seems to be the crux of the problem.
At present, India suffers from an information
gap on water issues with China, and thus it
becomes hard to assess how serious the
problem is. Weak international laws and the
absence of robust water-sharing agreements
between the countries only magnify the
problem.
According to Kondapalli, at present, the
potential for a treaty or a water-sharing mech-
anism between the two countries seems
extravagant largely due to looming border
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPECIALREPORT
“EVEN THOUGH THE BRAHMAPUTRA
PICKS UP MORE WATER FROM THE
INDIAN SIDE, THE FACT REMAINS
THAT THE HEADWATERS OF THE
BRAHMAPUTRA ARE IN TIBET. IF THE
ORIGIN ITSELF IS CONTROLLED, THE
SCOPE OF ANY WATER REACHING
INDIA IS INDUBITABLY RULED OUT.”
DR. SRIKANTH KONDAPALLI,
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, JNU
issues. A water treaty would necessarily make
certain assumptions on borders and bound-
aries, which have not yet been resolved
between the two countries and thus would be
inordinately hard to negotiate.
Moreover, China has never signed an offi-
cial agreement with any of its lower riparians,
for the rivers flowing out of it. There is no
agreement on the Irtysh river between China
and Kazakhstan, or on the rivers between Chi-
na and Russia. On the Mekong, there is not an
agreement but a commission and China is not
part of that. On the Indus or the Brahmaputra
as well, India does not have an agreement
with China.
Kondapalli explains that China is not
completely opposed to an agreement in a
limited fashion with some countries. For
example they have privately, not officially,
stated that they would be willing to discuss
water issues with the lower riparians, only if
they would agree to using water for agricul-
tural and not industrial purposes. Such a
suggestion has been previously made to
Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Even though the chances for a treaty at
present are slim, there are certain options
that India could exercise. It could take this
issue to the World Water Council or the
International Court of Justice and ask them
to resolve it. Some West Asian countries
have taken their water issues to the World
Water Council and their issues have been
successfully resolved. An intervention like
this, however, might stiffen the stance of
China, instead of relaxing it, Kondipally
cautions.
Another option is to advertise the issue
and hope for good counsel to prevail over
China. It is imperative that India and China
invest in water conservation techniques,
either individually or collectively.
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In the ultimate analysis, a blanket refusal
to heed the Indian claims of an impending cri-
sis, or creating excessive fear are two options
that should be avoided. Instead, India and
China need to start engaging on water-sharing
issues. This engagement should not be open
ended and should be carried forward with the
final goal of an institutionalised water-sharing
mechanism or a water treaty between the two.
India also needs to strengthen its intelligence
and information capabilities, in both groun-
dand satellite-based imagery on what China is
doing with its Tibetan water resources.
Also any step that India takes must be
kept in the context of India not only being a
lower riparian but also an upper riparian. If it
expects China to shelve its plans of diversion,
would it be ready to do the same as demanded
by its own lower riparian, Bangladesh?
Bangladesh worries that India’s national river-
link project( NRLP ) would create great water
shortages for the country. More than 80 per
cent of Bangladesh’s farmers grow rice and for
this, they depend on waters flowing through
India.
The countries should simultaneously
strengthen avenues of cooperation. They
could work on substitutes to big hydroelectric
projects, which have negative ecological
impact, and instead focus on water conserva-
tion and water management. Protection of
water sources, improving and maintaining
water quality, issues of drainage, flood control,
water harvesting and watershed management
are some areas where cooperation can be
envisaged. In the absence of these, India and
China risk turning the now seemingly exces-
sive claims of water crisis, in to Cassandra
claims of disaster.
(The writer is a Research Officer at the Insti-
tute for Peace and Conflict Studies)
December 2010
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Periscope December.qxd 12/1/2010 5:33 PM Page 12

PERISCOPE
g
GEOPOLITICS

GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL COMMISSION FOR FORCES

THE SUPREME Court has directed the Centre to
constitute the Armed Forces Grievances Redres-
sal Commission to look into the grievances of
serving or former members of the armed forces
(the Army, the Navy and the Air Force) or their
widows or family members for pension or other
issues and make suitable recommendations
expeditiously to the Central government in
this regard.
The Supreme Court has also decided who will
head this Commission. “The Commission, to be
headed by the former Supreme Court Judge
Kuldip Singh, will also frame and recommend to
the Central government a scheme for proper
rehabilitation of discharged soldiers.” It appoint-
ed the retired Chief Justice of Allahabad High
Court, SS Sodhi, as vice-chairman, and General
VP Malik, retired Chief of Army Staff, and Lt. Gen
Vijay Oberoi, retired Vice-Chief of Army Staff, as
members. The Centre could, at its discretion,
appoint a retired civil servant as
another member.
The Court in its order said, “Indian armed
forces are bravely defending the borders of the
country, often standing on guard at a height of
20,000 feet and in minus 30 {+o}C temperature,
day and night, so that the people of India can live,
work and sleep in peace. However, there is wide-
spread discontent among the serving and former
members of the armed forces (by which we
mean the Army, the Navy and the Air Force) and
their widows and family members regarding
their service conditions, e.g. pay scales,
allowances, anomalies regarding pensions, inad-
equate pension (particularly to those disabled
while in service), widows benefits, promotion
matters (including promotion policy and
process) etc.. They have a feeling that the bureau-
crats do not care for them and do not properly
address their grievances. As a result, thousands of
ex-armed forces personnel have returned their
medals, and some have even burnt their
artificial limbs.
“These grievances include the grievances
relating to pay; allowances; one rank, one pen-
sion; other pension matters; suitable benefits to
be granted to war veterans, war widows; promo-
tion matters; rehabilitation of soldiers who are
discharged at a young age, etc. Our courts of law
(L-R) Lt. Gen Vijay Oberoi, Justice Kuldip Singh, Gen V.P. Malik and Justice S.S. Sodhi
are flooded with cases relating to members, both
serving and retired, of the armed forces; e.g. cases
relating to pension, promotion, etc; and the obvi-
ous reason is that the armed forces personnel
have a feeling that their grievances are not being
properly addressed.
Today our ex-soldiers have not only been
demanding but are agitating to get their legiti-
mate dues. They were compelled to resort to
public protests and even return their War-medals
and burn their artificial limbs, as was done by
Captain C.S. Sidhu whose right arm was ampu-
tated while serving at the front but was getting a
pittance as pension. This, in our opinion, is not
good for the nation. The armed forces personnel
should have a feeling that their grievances are
heard by an independent body. Even if some of
their demands are not accepted, they will have a
feeling that they were given a proper hearing.”

INDIA, S ARABIA COOPERATION

FOUR YEARS after King
Abdullah visited India in Jan-
uary 2006, the Indian Army
will hold joint exercises with
the Royal Saudi Land Force in
that country in March next
year. New Delhi has also
agreed to build a mountain
warfare school to enhance
the fighting capability of
Riyadh against non-state
players.
While the India-Saudi Ara-
bia relationship is shrouded
in secrecy due to interests
inimical to both countries,
New Delhi and Riyadh have
broadened bilateral intelli-
gence sharing, with high-lev-
Clean up DGDE: Antony
el visits from both sides to
bolster cooperation in the
fight against terrorism.
After Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh made a historic
three-day visit to Riyadh this
January, Intelligence Bureau
Director Rajiv Mathur was in
Saudi Arabia in October to
strengthen intelligence shar-
ing with his counterpart.
Saudi Arabia's former intelli-
gence chief Prince Turki bin
Faisal Al Saud is expected to
visit India next March and
interact with the Indian
leadership.
WITH SCAMS dogging defence lands across the country, Defence
Minister AK Antony has directed the Directorate General of
Defence Estates (DGDE) to clean up its act swiftly.
There is about 17.3 lakh acres of defence land around the coun-
try. As it is, the MoD has already ordered "an all-encompassing''
CBI probe into the Adarsh Housing Society scam , which saw politi-
cians, bureaucrats and several military officers, including three for-
mer chiefs, getting swanky flats in the tony Colaba area in south
Mumbai for literally one-tenth their values. Army Chief General VK
Singh had himself recommended such a step.
The DGDE has "advisory and executive functions'' in matters
relating to defence land and civic administration in 62 canton-
ments. Of the 17.3 lakh acres of defence land, the Army has 13.79
lakh acres under its control and management, while the much
smaller IAF has 1.51 lakh acres and Navy 0.37 lakh acres.
Incidentally, the controller general of defence accounts has also
asked MoD to disband DGDE in its current shape due to wide-
spread irregularities in the department. It has recommended trans-
fer of DGDE's
functions,
activities and
expert man-
power to the
land direc-
torates of the
three Services.

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www.geopolitics.in December 2010
Periscope December.qxd 12/1/2010 5:34 PM
COASTAL SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM IAF upgrading N-E
E
INDIA IS installing along its long coastline
a sophisticated surveillance system capa-
ble of tracking movements as distant as 20
km in the sea with a command and control
centre in Delhi from where the entire coast
can be monitored, officials said here.
Civil works to put in place the system,
comprising a radar, electro-optic sensor
and command and control software are
underway. With the system, "we can mon-
itor any square inch of the entire sea of the
country and see visually," according to I V
Sarma, Director (R&D) of Bengalu-
ru-headquartered BEL, a defence
electronics company, which devel-
oped the system for the Coast
Guard.
Trials (for testing the system) are
over and a formal contract will be
signed with the government before
ARMY TEST-FIRES JAVELIN MISSILE
INDIAN ARMY soldiers have conducted
Javelin anti-tank missile live-fire test along
with the US Army personnel during the
annual Yudh Abhyas 2010 bilateral training
exercise in the US.
Surrounded by the snow capped moun-
tains of the Alaskan Range, soldiers from the
US’s 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment,
1st SBCT, 25th ID, and the Indian Army’s
62nd Infantry and 5th Parachute Regiment
www.geopolitics.in
Page 13
g
December end and BEL will start putting
equipment from January onwards.
Though contract negotiations have not
been completed, BEL expects the first
phase order to be worth ` 500 crore to
` 600 crore.
While surveillance stations are being
put up in sensitive areas in the first phase,
the subsequent second and third phase to
be taken up would address the 'gaps' to
ensure that the entire coastal region is cov-
ered. Cameras in the coastal surveillance
system operate during day and
night as well as in low-light condi-
tions. Both radars and camera are
capable of going up to a distance
of 20 km into the sea.
The entire command and con-
trol of the system will be based in
Delhi.
Brigade participated in a number of tactical
training exercises culminating in a Javelin
anti-tank missile live-fire, the US Army has
said in a statement. Two Javelin anti-tank
missiles were test fired on November 8,
which “hit a target with pin-point accuracy,”
the statement said. It may be noted that India
has decided to buy the third-generation
Javelin missile system from the US under the
Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route.
The Javelin is a ‘fire-
and-forget’ missile with
lock-on before launch
and automatic self-guid-
ance. The system takes a
top-attack flight profile
against armoured vehi-
cles (attacking the top
armour, which is general-
ly thinner) but can also
take a direct-attack mode
for use against buildings
or fortifications. This mis-
sile also has the capability
to engage helicopters in a
direct-attack mode.
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facilities
IN VIEW of the persistent Chinese threats in
the North-East, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has
decided to go for a ‘composite upgradation’ of
its establishment in the region where viola-
tions by the neighbour have been recorded in
the past.
The government has appointed an empowered
committee headed by the Vice-Chief of IAF (PK
Barbora) on upgrading the facilities in the North-
East and a lot of things have happened on ground.
The IAF will up its capacity for eight advance land-
ing grounds and five major air fields in the
North-East.
Major airfields of the North-East are Guwa-
hati, Panagrah, Tejpur, Chabua, Bagdogra and
Salwa. These are being
modernised under the project,
Modernisation of Air Field Infra-
structure (MAFI). This would
involve better runway facilities,
ground manoeuvring area,
navigation apparatus, radar
facilities, ammunition
dumps, etc.
BrahMos missile for
IAF
SIVATHANU PILLAI, Chief Executive and
Managing Director, BrahMos Aerospace, has
said that the development and induction of
BrahMos, India’s supersonic cruise missile for
the Indian Air Force, will be completed soon.
The missile had already been inducted
into the Indian Army and the Navy. India test-
fired an advanced version of a supersonic
cruise missile in September, as part of the
country’s drive to boost its defence system.
The missile can fly at 2.8 times the speed of
sound, and can carry conventional warheads
up to 300 kg for a range of 290 km.
India and Russia are jointly designing the
BrahMos missile. It is a
supersonic cruise missile
capable of being
launched from sub-
marines, ships, aircraft
and land-based mobile
autonomous launchers
(MAL). The BrahMos mis-
sile is a two-stage
vehicle that has a
solid propellant
booster and a liq-
uid propellant
ram-jet system.
December 2010
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g
GEOPOLITICS
SPOTLIGHT

WHEN WILL IT BE ‘MADE IN INDIA’?

Economic might with a poor record in manufacturing cannot get you a seat on the high
table, argues ABHIJIT BHATTACHARYYA, who examines the woeful neglect of home-grown
answers to our defence needs and its dangerous consequences

H
ISTORY AND contemporary
international relation show that
no state can be counted upon as
a top-grade power by being per-
manently at the mercy of foreign
arms manufacturers to supply “imported
equipment” to deal with its aspiring agenda.
Seen thus, the present plight of India can very
well be appreciated and understood. If one
takes into account few military hardware like
combat aircraft/rotorcraft, Naval ships and
main battle tank, the Indian scenario is unam-
biguous and “loud and clear”.
Take, for example, MBT (main battle tank).
Of the 4047 plus MBT, more than 300 are Russ-
ian T-90s; 1950 are T-72M1; 715 are T-55 and
only 1008 vintage Vijayanta are of Indian make.
The 100-odd Indian-made Arjun tanks still
have not won the confidence of the Army
brass, reportedly owing to its over-weight,
excess girth, underperforming gear box and
under-par hot weather performance, recent
desert trials notwithstanding.
All of the artillery regiments’ 410 155mm
FH-77B Bofors guns are from Stockholm, con-
troversial legacy thereof notwithstanding. In
the frontline fighter squadrons, not a single
aircraft is “Made in India”, though the
rising/prohibitive cost of each imported unit
should have given a wake-up call to the
defence planning, financial, procurement,
research and development officers long
ago during the formative era of nation’s
defence strategy.
Indeed, the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 2010 figures of
the recipients of major conventional weapons
between 2005 and 2009 reveal that India with
an average of seven per cent of global arms
imports in the market, stood second only to
China’s nine per cent. The interesting perspec-
tive is that the number two importer stands at
34th position amongst the suppliers (exporter)
of major conventional weapons during 2005-
2009 with virtually no significant market share.
China, on the other hand, as a supplier of
major conventional weapons worth $2.731 bil-
lion, stands 9th, in the list of exporters of major
conventional weapons during 2005-2009.
Clearly, therefore, there exists an
unbridgeable hiatus between India’s defence
expenditure of $8.398 billion (incurred on
import) and revenue earning of $94 million
(through export of military hardware) between
2005 and 2009. To fight the potential external
enemy, India also fights with price of expensive
arms fetched from external sources with con-
stant cost and time over-run thereby leaving
enough room for chaos and confusion in the
midst of a crisis, should the foreign suppliers
choose to impose their terms and conditions,
in mid-stream, to hike their profit. After all,
arms bazaar and ethics are inherently contra-
dictory. Armament transaction follows the
free-enterprise/market economics of the west-
ern world’s economic and financial systems.

FLYING HIGH: Indigenously developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Rustom 1 was successfully test-flown in October 2010

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g
SPOTLIGHT

To understand Indian situation better, let

us go to the SIPRI 2010 list of world’s 100 largest
arms-producing companies (excluding Chi-
nese companies). Accordingly, “Chinese com-
panies are excluded because of the lack of
readily available data”. It thus comes as little
surprise that USA leads the list with 15, out of
first 20 arms-producing companies, followed
by UK (BAE Systems) 1st; Italy (Finmeccanica)
8th; France (Thales) 10th and Russia (Almaz-
Antei) 18th. In contrast, India, the second
biggest importer of conventional arms in the
world, finds its Hindustan Aeronautics (with
30000 total employment) at 44th position of
the list. Indian Ordnance Factories (112000
workforce stands 54th and the Bharat Elec-
tronics (11960 personnel) on 65th position.
It is thus clear that on the purchasing com-
pulsion and capability of India depend the
quantum of job creation in the arms-manufac-
turing countries in the West. Understandably, it
comes as no surprise that the USA was more
than keen to finalise a $4.4 billion deal for the
Indian Air Force to acquire 10 C-17 Globemas-
ter transport aircraft ahead of its President A SUCCESS STORY: Finishing touches being given to LCA Tejas in the production line
Obama’s visit to India. According to Robert
Blake, the Assistant Secretary of State for South carrier and amphibious assault ships, offshore wa-Okecie); Brazil (Embraer EMB-312
and Central Asia, “This $4.4 billion deal could patrol vessels, mine warfare vessels, survey Tucano); Germany (Grob Aircraft AG); Italy
potentially create up to 30,000 jobs in the USA ships, fleet tankers, fleet replenishment ships, (Aermacchi M-311); South Korea (Korea Aero-
and would be particularly important for South- frigates and destroyers, London’s marine engi- space Industries KT-1) and Switzerland’s
ern California as the assembly line for these neering skill and expertise continue unabated Pilatus will compete for the tender, which cov-
colossal aircraft is located in Long Beach.” and unhindered. ers the outright purchase of 75 training
On India’s order and open-purse also pros- However, so far as the inventory of Indian aircraft. The saddest news, however, is that
pered Moscow’ military industrial complex for Air Force is concerned, it would not be incor- “106 units would be licence-built by state-
close to five decades as the bulk of India’s MBT rect to state the obvious: the indigenous com- owned HAL in Bengaluru” to replace the IAF’s
and aircraft originated from Russia and bat aircraft production in India simply refuses fleet of 180-200 locally built Hindustan Piston
Ukraine. Similarly, as the Indian Navy sub- to take off, investment of millions and billions Trainer (HPT-32) basic trainers, which have
marines are also imported from the shipyards notwithstanding. Not surprisingly, therefore, been grounded in July 2009 after a spate of fatal
of France and Germany and now orders have every fighter of the Indian Air Force today con- accidents.
been placed for UK and US-manufactured air- tinues to be of foreign origin, transfer-of-tech- Thus, the tragic part of the indigenous
craft and vessels, New Delhi could try to nology production thereof at HAL’s various defence preparedness story is that India, with
appraise as to what it takes to be a power-to- units notwithstanding. The sole indigenous all her military-industrial complex plus one of
be-counted and respected in the high table of fighter programme (of light combat aircraft) the top five military powers, which can manu-
international diplomacy. Tejas, feasibility study of which began in 1983, facture nuclear weapons, inter-continental
The stark reality emerges from the inven- is expected to have its IOC (initial operational ballistic missiles, sophisticated destroyers,
tories of UK, France, Germany, USA, Russia capability) declared with delivery of half a frigates, corvettes and join the exclusive club of
and China all of which are there owing to their squadron at the end of 2010 and full opera- aircraft carrier manufacturers, just cannot
being self-reliant on home production to equip tional clearance is likely to be had by Decem- either design or produce fighters and basic
their forces. Thus, not a single fighting ship ber 2014. Hence, by then it would be more than trainers for the Air Force thereof. Indeed, it is
(included in which are submarine, aircraft car- a 31-year ongoing-enterprise to put indige- like a crisis-situation wherein the entire fleet is
rier, destroyer, frigate and corvette) of the Ger- nous fighter aircraft in the air. Reportedly, Indi- imported: from Sukhoi, Mirage, Jaguar, MiG,
man and French navies is imported. All vessels an Air Force plans seven squadrons. Ilyushin, Antonov, Boeing, Lockheed to now
of Berlin are made in their own shipyards at As if the ceaseless failure to build its own the “most” basic trainer of the pilot training
Kiel, Emden and Hamburg and the ships of fighter was not bad enough, more distressing schools! Translate this military hardware
Paris too are built in its units located at Cher- now is the latest news that India cannot even inventory into the quantum of cash outflow for
bourg, St. Nazaire, Brest and Lorient. The tradi- produce “basic trainers” for its budding pilots. acquisition thereof from foreign manufactur-
tional British ship-building industry continues Hence, the Indian Air Force is shortly begin- ers, can one realise the helpless and hopeless
to this day, cost-cutting, cash crisis, fleet reduc- ning “field trials” with at least six competitors position the Indians are in.
tion, deficit budget of the government in support of New Delhi’s desperate need for Clearly, if the foreign suppliers know that
notwithstanding. From submarine to aircraft basic trainers. Thus Poland (EADS PZL Warsza- India can neither design nor produce even a

www.geopolitics.in December 2010

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g
SPOTLIGHT

a space of 51 pages to India’s 14 in Jane’s,

basic trainer air-
craft for her budding
pilots, there is a pos- LCH developed by HAL
sibility that they will
not supply the “best”
and the “latest” at a given time. Also, when the
desperate importing customer (like India) is at
the mercy of the confident foreign manufac-
turers, do not expect either any concession or
mercy on the price tag of the imported stuff.
Weak buyer makes strong seller, thereby mak-
ing it a seller’s market. And if one adds the cor- was the first such type to enter large-sale pro- virtually “no show” owing to “foreign hand”
ruption factor of the buyer’s system in the
entire game, one can be rest assured that even
if India may or may not get the best material
for her military men, cost-wise it is likely to be 20th century, Beijing soon turned into a fasci-
more expensive than the normal market price
available/offered to non-Indian buyers of
identical hardware.
Understandably, therefore, India will rue
her failure to match, or catch up, with the Chi-
nese aviation industry next door. Today’s Chi-
nese enterprise is a pathetic reminder to
India’s lamentable lack of enterprise. A quarter
gramme initiated by Beijing in
the early 1970s. China also launched her
Harbin Hongzhaji-5 equivalent to the then
Soviet Ilyushin-28 three-seat tactical light
bomber. And finally, the Nanchang CJ-6 basic
training aircraft was essentially an indigenous
design of the Chinese aerospace industry and
duction.
Thus, with the beginning of a modest
enterprise for an aviation enterprise in the late tinguishes between China and India, is that
nating and fierce demonstration of its deter-
mination to dominate the airspace with an
array of home-grown flying machines. And
Jane’s all the world’s aircraft 2010-2011 gives a various types of import restrictions/sanctions
detailed account of both, a rising-Beijing and
declining-Delhi’s indigenous aviation Hans go fast-forward indigenisation to count-
programme. The difference is stark, real and
wide. And it is widening by the day. China gets
arguably the most authentic and credible
annual aviation
bible.
Indeed, in a bewildering show of its future
might, Beijing has virtually all types of aircraft
in production line: from two-seat light plane,
multirole fighter, attack fighter, multirole
medium helicopter, light utility single-
engine helicopter, attack helicopter,
four-seat amphibian, advanced jet
trainer, light utility twin-engine helicopter,
twin-turboprop light transport, prop trainer,
basic jet trainer/light attack jet, agricultural
sprayer, medium transport/multirole aircraft,
special mission aircraft, air superiority fighter,
utility biplane to strategic bomber. The most
spectacular of all is Beijing’s daring entry into
100-150-seat commercial aviation, which at
present is dominated by the European consor-
tium Airbus and the US giant Boeing. In com-
parison, India’s indigenous military aviation is
and lags miles behind China.
Today, one of the main features, which dis-
whereas Beijing faces numerous “restrictions,
embargo, sanctions” etc on military hard-
ware and technology transfer from the West,
Delhi does not face such hurdle. Hence, the
imposed on China appear to have helped the
er the “superior” technology of the west.
India, on the other hand, appears more than

“THIS $4.4
century ago, it was not like this. In the early complacent to receive “readymade, ready-to-
1980s both India and China were comparative- use” screw-driver technology on the platter,
ly at even keel, being at similar “development
curve”. Indira Gandhi, with all her human
BILLION DEAL which in turn becomes a supreme disincen-
tive to indigenous research and development.
fault-lines, was keen on indigenous enterprise. (C-17 When “cash-rich” India gets the “best”
Thus, the HJT-16 trainer aircraft was designed straight off-the-shelf, why then an Indian
by an Indian team led by Dr. V.M.Ghatge to GLOBEMASTER ) think of being laborious and diligent to be
meet the needs of the Indian Air Force for a jet
basic trainer. It had first flown on September 4,
COULD “better than the best”?
Indeed, India today is at crossroads on
1964 and delivered to IAF in March 1968. The POTENTIALLY CREATE UP defence hardware acquisition. What began
model was upgraded in 1983 and joined oper- long ago as a cherished dream, self-
ational duty in 1984. India also was, on its own, TO 30,000 JOBS IN THE USA reliance in defence technology and pro-
to build HAL Ajeet (trainer) tandem two-seat
operational trainer. On top of all, however, was
AND WOULD BE duction appears to be fast giving way to
the easier path of import for the advocates
the development of HAL HPT-32 fully aerobat- PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT of “latest and best technology from the
ic piston engine basic trainer, which now West”. This “easy path” to defence mod-
stands grounded. FOR SOUTHERN ernisation is also an “even easier path to
In contrast, the Chinese too were trying to
come up, to be self-sufficient in aircraft pro- CALIFORNIA AS THE prosperity” through “acts of commission
and kickbacks” for which the country of 1.2
duction. They took the Soviet origin design of
MiG-17, MiG-19 and MiG-21, which were
ASSEMBLY LINE FOR THESE billion people is so well “reputed” and
deeply “respected”. Indeed, with a rank of
licence-building for its air force. Simultane- COLOSSAL AIRCRAFT IS 84 out of 190 odd nations in the corruption
ously, however, China was also trying to come
out of her dependence on imported military LOCATED IN LONG BEACH.” index, we have not done so badly as such.
Hence, the unending import and end of
hardware and technology thereof. Thus, ROBERT BLAKE, indigenisation are a win-win situation for
China’s Shenyang Jianjiji-8 (fighter aircraft) US ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR both, the Indians and rule-breaking
was the subject of an advanced fighter pro- SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA schemes of foreign arms dealers.

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DefBIZ cover.qxd 12/1/2010 4:45 PM Page 1

geopolitics
DEF BIZ

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT

THE AMERICAN SCANNERS?
The MI’s decision to scrap a global tender in favour
of a single supplier has opened a Pandora’s box
Acquisition.qxd 12/1/2010 3:46 PM Page 60

Defence contracts as per

the procurement
procedure is to be
transparent and through
open commercial
bidding. But the
loopholes in the
guidelines and vague
technical specification
are in general used to
give contracts to specific
suppliers ignoring other

g
bidders and
circumventing the
process. Here is the first
part in a series on such
acquisitions that we
GROWING FORCE: Detection equipment is crucial to homeland hope to bring forth in
security especially in context to India
the coming months

PREFERENTIAL CONTRACTS:
HIDDEN TRUTH
GEOPOLITICS
DEFBIZ

I
NDIAN DEFENCE procurement is a sor- months back, the Directorate of Military Intel- the time gap between last RFI and RFP is just
ry tale of poor governance and has given ligence issued an RFP (Request for Proposal) two months. Moreover, if indeed the equip-
birth to numerous controversies. The to one company, after the cancellation of third ment was required on such an urgent basis
major deals go through enormous pub- RFI which was released on May this year to six what was the MoD doing for the last six years
lic scrutiny but the smaller acquisition companies including two public sector when document after document was issued
and procurements done by Ministry of undertaking. and cancelled?
Defence go unscrutinised. What is most shocking is that RFP was As per the Fast track procedure guidelines
In early November, several leading firm issued under the fast track procedure when in DPP (Defence Procurement Procedure)
manufacturing detection equip-
ments went to Chief Vigilance
Commissioner against the irreg-
ularities in the procurement of
full body truck scanners by Mili-
tary Intelligence (MI- 15) copies
of the letter sent by these global
giants to CVC is with Geopolitics,
which clearly states that order
has been placed to one particular
company without a competitive
bid, which is against the govern-
ment set guide line.
The process to procure these
scanners began way back in
March, 2004 when the first of the
three Request for Information
(RFI) was floated. Two more were
subsequently floated in 2005 and
the present one in 2010, all three
were subsequently cancelled —
after inviting the RFP — without
any notice. However, some two

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Acquisition.qxd 12/1/2010 3:47 PM Page 61
HERE ARE RELEVANT EXTRACTS OF THE FAST
TRACK PROCEDURE AS LAID DOWN BY MoD
Defence Procurement Procedure -2008
Fast Track Procedure pg 198-199
CHAPTER IV. FAST TRAC
PROCEDURE -2006
GENERAL
1. Fast Track Procedure for meeting
urgent operational requirements was
promulgated; vide MoD ID No: 800/SS
(A)/2001 dated 28 Sep 2001. This proce-
dure has been reviewed and modified
based on experience gained in implemen-
tation. This procedure, named the Fast
Track Procedure-2006, is set out in suc-
ceeding paragraphs.
AIM
2. The objective of this procedure is to
ensure expeditious procurement for
urgent operational requirements fore-
seen as imminent or for a situation in
which a crisis emerges without prior
warning.
SCOPE
3. The Fast Track Procedure-2006 (FTP-
2006) will cover acquisitions undertaken
by the Ministry of Defence and Defence
Services under ‘Buy’ category or outright
purchase. The acquisitions may or may
not be part of long Term Integrated Pro-
curement Plan (LTIPP)/Services Capital
Acquisition Plan (SCAP)/Annual Acquisi-
tion Plan (AAP). Such acquisitions are
applicable forboth indigenous sources
and ex-import. Procurement proposals in
which user trials are envisaged
will not be under the purview of FTP.
4. The acquisition under FTP-2006 can be
categorised as under:
(a) Procurement of equipment already
inducted into Service.
(b) Procurement of new equipment.
ACQUISITION PROCESS
ACCEPTANCE OF NECESSITY
(AON)
5. The adoption of FTP-2006 to meet
urgent operational requirements will be
authorised by special DAC meeting
chaired by the Raksha Mantri based on
proposals moved by respective SHQs
with the approval of the concerned Ser-
vice Chief. This Committee would com-
prise of the Service Chief(s), Defence
www.geopolitics.in
g
DEFBIZ
Secretary, Secretary (Defence Produc-
tion), Secretary (R&D), Secretary
Defence (Finance), Director General
(Acquisition), HQ IDS (CISC) and other
officials of the MoD as deemed necessary.
The proposal would be processed by
HQrs IDS which will act as Secretariat to
the special DAC. Copies of the proposal/s
would also be circulated to the other
members of the committee.
The projected requirement must be relat-
ed to an operational situation foreseen as
imminent or for a situation where a crisis
has emerged without prior warning. The
requirement, as projected, must identify
the items required, their numbers, mode
of procurement, broad Operational
Requirements (ORs)/Services Qualitative
Requirements (SQRs) desired and the
time-frame within which they need to be
inducted.
6. Consequent to the initiation of the
proposal, a special meeting of the DAC
would be convened within seven days.
The DAC would discuss the proposal and
accord Acceptance of Necessity to the
proposal. Decisions on following aspects
will explicitly emanate from the analysis
by the DAC:-
7. Minutes of meeting of the special DAC,
as approved, would be construed as the
AON and based on which the
SHQ/Acquisition Wing/Empowered
Committee would initiate the procure-
ment process.
8. Given the limited time-frame, the FTP-
2006 would necessarily have to be con-
fined to such items as would be available
within the specified time-frames and
therefore, long lead items such as major
weapon system should be avoided. The
items involved should preferably be such
which are already in Service or have been
trial evaluated or are available widely in
the world/in service in foreign defence
forces/indigenous market for ready pro-
curement so that the time required for
evaluation is minimised. The Indian
DAs/Ambassadors in their respective
country would confirm the information
furnished by the vendors regarding the
item being .In Service in Foreign Defence
Forces. The TEC would include such infor-
mation received from DAs in their techni-
cal compliance statement.
(19)
AIDING SECURITY: Scanners can provide
a secure, prompt and reliable detection
2008 : “The objective of this procedure is to
ensure expeditious procurement for urgent
operational requirements foreseen as immi-
nent or for a situation in which a crisis
emerges without prior warning”. The point is
what had significantly altered in this short
time that the competitive bid had to be modi-
fied into a fast track bid ?
Rapiscan systems one of the contenders
for the RFI in its letter to the CVC has men-
tioned that, "RFP issued to the only vendor,
seemingly justifies this egregious violation of
norms by citing the need for a particular tech-
nology, namely combination of X-ray and
Backscatter transmission for scanning of the
vehicle to be inspected. This specification has
no mention in the initial RFI which required
the application of X-ray transmission technol-
ogy which is the globally accepted proce-
dure". In the same letter it is also mentioned
that the compliance statement in the RFPs
doesn't mention this specific technology as
requirement. Thus the whole purpose of the
RFP was to acquire the specific technology is
nullified. It is of utmost importance that the
purpose and importance of limiting the tech-
nology only to the backscatter technology
and availability of this technology with ven-
dors involved in the previous RFI, hasn't been
explained to us in spite of our questionnaire
sent to them in this regards. "Smiths" the oth-
er prospective contender have also made sim-
ilar observations and have lodged their
protest letter with the CVC. Nalco and L3-HCL
are also believed to have expressed similar
concerns (see box).
It is not surprising that MPs too have now
got into the act and written letters to the Cab-
inet Secretary, Raksha Mantri and others.
Obviously some of the manufacturers who
have lost out have decided that they have no
option but to lobby and have the decision
reversed. Two honourable Members of Parlia-
ment, Bhudev Chaudhari, MP LS, Jamui and
Vishwa Mohan Kumar, MP LS have written
letters to the Cabinet Secretary on this pro-
curement. Shri Kumar has also written to the
CVC on this.
Shri Kumar in his letter sent to CVC and
December 2010
Acquisition.qxd 12/1/2010 3:47 PM Page 62

g
DEFBIZ

QUESTIONS
SENT TO MoD
HERE ARE some of the questions that
we are seeking an answer to. They were
sent well in advance to Ministry of
Defence/Directorate of Military Intelli-
gence for response but we received no
reply.
❁ DGMI has cancelled three RFI issued
for request for Technical and Com-
mercial proposal for Mobile Cargo
Search System. These were issued in
2004/2005 and 2010. Could you
please tell us the reasons behind the
cancellations?
❁ RFI issued on 6th May, 2010 was
issued to six manufacturers and the
response was submitted by more
than one manufacturer. But the RFI
was cancelled later. Again on Jul NEED OF THE HOUR: (Top) Bus
2010, separate RFP under Fast Track undergoing detection through
Procedure was issued to M/s Ameri- scanner; (bottom) a scanner
can Science and Engineering Inc, stationed at one of the transit points.
which was one of the applicant to
the RFI issued on 6th May 2010.
What were the reasons behind this can disagree but this is readily and easily
sudden change in the process? What available equipment with multiple com-
were the reasons for going for fast mercially available vendors. By following
track procedure? the — open tender route — the depart-
❁ What is the exceptional technology ment could perhaps have benefitted
that Ms American Science and Engi- both from price and the best available
neering Inc. offering that is not product in the market.
available with the others? Were the Chaudhary in his letter to Cabinet
other five bidders asked about this Secretary on Nov 10 has said, “Kindly
technology and what was their take immediate corrective steps and stall
response? Cabinet Secretary on Nov 10 has written, “It is the order immediately and get the independ-
❁ One of the applicants of 6th May RFI
learnt that the purchase order worth `350-400 ent inquiry conducted to check the delin-
in its letter to Mr. P.J.Thomas, Chief
crore public money for supply of the said sys- quent official who are playing with the safety
Vigilance Commissioner has men-
tem have also been placed in hurry on the and security of the country …….have taken
tioned that to justify single vendor
the technical requirement was same American Company on single tender shelter of fabricated Fast Track Procurement
changed in the last RFP issued to basis under precarious ground of fast track with ulterior motive to justify their action and
M/s American Science and Engineer- procurement in violation of the prescribed have gone for single vendor procurement and
ing Inc on Jul 2010. If it is true why procedure laid down by CVC/government for have avoided better participation.”
was the technical specification such procurement.” Truck and cargo scanner can improve the
changed? What was so significant in DPP suggest the fast track has to be fol- overall security scenario of the nation and the
that particular technology that with- lowed for “expeditious procurement for urgent procurement of this should have been done
in two months, a new proposal was operational requirements” which doesn’t long back. By losing six valuable years, we
floated while there had been no imply for this deal as the urgency of the equip- have lost on a better security environment.
change in the specs of the ment can be well understood from the three RFI proves that the Government has sanc-
2004.2005 and the 2010 tender? cancelled RFI and RFP since 2004. tioned amount for it and the procurement was
❁ Why this single vendor situation was The decision for the procurement must delayed for no apparent reason for six good
allowed to emerge which is against have come from the highest level as the DPP years and then going for a single vendor on
the government norms? Were there Fast Track Procedure guideline suggests (see dubious technical ground, an economical
no manufacturer which had that box). If the equipment was so important then unsound decision, is a proof that the process
technology and how could DGMI
why three RFI were cancelled and repeated followed has been far from transparent.
was so sure about that without float-
request by the vendors — that included two A closer scrutiny of the smaller deals is
ing tenders? Has a reply been filed
leading PSUs — for presentation were denied. required. For every one Adarsh comes in the
to the complaint made with the CVC
in this issue? Truck scanner is very important equipment in public domain, there are scores like these that
today’s uncertain and troubled time, no one go unreported.

(20)
www.geopolitics.in December 2010
DefBiz December.qxd 12/1/2010 4:41 PM
DEF BIZ
NAVY
STRENGTHENING
ASW
CAPABILITIES
THE INDIAN Navy has
issued a tender seeking
anti-submarine bomb
capable of aircraft delivery.
The contract initially per-
tains to munitions capable
of fixed-wing aircraft deliv-
ery. These are to be used as
an urgent attack weapon
against submarines.
The bomb being sought
should be capable of being
dropped from an aircraft
for engaging a submarine
in deep waters as well as
those on surface and
periscope depths.
The Navy is also said to
be looking for bombs that
could be launched from
rotary wing (helicopters)
platforms too. The intend-
ed bombs should have
sufficient high explosive to
destroy target submarine
at proximity distance. The
conventional warheads’
shelf-life should be about
30 years.
The Navy’s contract is
particularly interested in
munitions capable of
sinking submarines in the
Indian Ocean’s tropical con-
ditions with a penetration
range of up to a half-mile
below the surface.
www.geopolitics.in
Page 5
g
GEOPOLITICS
SRS FOR POST-CRASH RECOVERY
A REQUEST For Information (RFI)
was issued in September 2010 for
Combat Search & Rescue Systems
(SRS). The Indian Air Force (IAF)
plans to procure personal rescue
Beacons for its fighter, trans-
port and helicopter fleet and
emergency location transmit-
ters (ELT) as well as Air borne
Locator Interrogators for its
Transport and Helicopters
fleet. The estimated cost is `120
crores.
During the past one year, there
have been two fatal accidents and
the bodies of three pilots, who lost their
lives in these accidents, were recovered.
Since these accidents took place near IAF
airfields under positive control of Air
Traffic Control (ATC), the present SRS was
not required to be used to recover the
bodies/debris.
MILITARY TRAINER FOR IAF
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT Corporation’s Deliveries of the T-6 began in 2000 after
(HBC) T-6 military trainer is all set to take the aircraft was initially selected to fill the
part in field evaluation trials with the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System role
Indian Air Force officials as part of its com- for the US Air Force and the US Navy. Since
petition for a new basic trainer. then, additional military programmes
The T-6 is a primary trainer aircraft that worldwide, including NATO Flying Training
accommodates instruction in instrument in Canada, the Hellenic Air Force of Greece,
flight procedures and basic aerial manoeu- the Israeli Air Force, the Iraqi Air Force and
vres. The aircraft delivers an outstanding the Royal Moroccan Air Force, have chosen
training capability that is appropriate for the T-6 and its derivatives as their primary
the most basic introductory flight training trainers.
through more challenging and complex
advanced training missions. To date, it has
been used to train pilots in approximately
20 different countries.
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December 2010
DefBiz December.qxd 12/1/2010 4:42 PM Page 6

DEF BIZ
g
DPV FOR NAVY BAE
WHICH, INDIAN Navy is planning to buy diver propulsion vehicles (DPV) for its diving teams
that would enable them to carry out undersea clear- SYSTEMS
AHEAD IN
ing operations during combat in quicker time.
The Navy has issued a request to manufac-
turers of the original equipment for furnishing

HOWITZER
details of their products for a likely future global
tender for the equipment.
The sought DPV’s length will be not more

DEAL
than three metres and it will weigh less than 80
kg. Driven by an electric battery, the vehicle will be
able to carry two divers at a time in operating depths of
30 metres.
It will have a submerged speed of two knots and range of four nautical miles, while the
surface speed would be 1.5 knots and range 2.5 nautical miles. BAE LAND Systems
One of the conditions for the DPV is that the Navy will consider before buying is minimum 155mm/39cal M777 ultra-light
noise, both on surface and underwater, so that a stealthy diving operation can be carried out howitzers is undergoing what is
without the enemy detecting them, the officer said. The shelf life of its battery will be three years dubbed in the Indian media
and charging time less than 12 hours. “confirmatory trials”, which
The Navy’s ideal requirement is that the DPV should be of light weight and portable with means that if the howitzer pass-
compact and robust design to withstand extreme environmental conditions including pressure es the test, the Ministry of
and temperatures from minus 15 to 40 degree Celsius. The DPV will be deployable from air or Defence (MoD) will place the
boat and easy to operate with user-friendly controls, inbuilt navigation systems with depth order for 145 howitzers on the
gauges. The battery-operated propulsion system will be capable of functioning while sub- US made system without going
merged without requirement to recharge for at least three hours. through the tendering process.
The M777 howitzer is sup-
posed to be sold under the US

SHOPS FOR PATROL AIRCRAFT, SPY DRONES
AFTER FINALISING the acquisition of 12 P-8I
Poseidon long-range maritime reconnais-
sance (LRMR) aircraft for $3.1 billion, the Navy
has now re-launched the hunt for six to eight
new medium-range maritime reconnaissance
(MRMR) planes and additional spy drones.
The Defence Ministry floated global RFIs
(request for information) in October for the
MRMR aircraft, with an operating range of
over 350 nautical miles, and HALE (high-alti-
tude, long-endurance) unmanned aerial
vehicles, with a service ceiling above 40,000
feet and endurance over 25 hours. The air-
craft to be procured will replace the ageing
fleet of 12 Islander aircraft in service.
The radar-packed LRMR and MRMR
planes will also be equipped with anti-ship
and submarine warfare capabilities in the
shape of deadly missiles, as well as the UAVs
form part of Navy`s plan for an effective
three-tier aerial surveillance
grid in the IOR.
It may be noted that the
Navy had first issued a
global request for pro-
posal (RFP) for procur-
ing the MRMR aircraft in
June 2008 before the 26/11
attacks on Mumbai but the
deal was scrapped later by
the Defence Ministry after
the submission of bids by
contenders in the race.
The companies likely to
receive the tender for the
contract include American
Boeing with P-8 (a derivative
of P-8I), Russian llyushin,
French Dassault Falcon
and EADS.
foreign military sales (FMS)
route through a possible govern-
ment-to-government deal. The
confirmatory trials are said to be
taking place in Sikkim. The deal
for the 155mm/59cal howitzers
is worth an estimated $650 mil-
lion and two of the guns have
been sent to Sikkim for trials.
India had earlier announced
a tender for the light howitzer
deal but the only other bidder,
Singapore Technologies was
blacklisted from doing business
with the MoD on grounds that it
was involved in a bribery base.
Singapore Technologies Kinetics
had fielded its Pegasus howitzer
and had brought it for possible
trials in India. However, even
before the howitzer could be
tested, Singapore Technologies
found itself fired from India.

(22)
www.geopolitics.in December 2010
Spotlight Feature.qxd 12/1/2010 5:39 PM
SPOTLIGHT FEATURE
UK UNDERLINES STRONG SUPPORT
FOR THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON
CAMPAIGN IN INDIA
DR. LIAM FOX visits Eurofighter Typhoon Office in New Delhi
D
uring his India visit at the end
of last month, UK’s Secretary of
State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox
made a strong pitch for the
Eurofighter Typhoon, which is
competing in India’s tender for 126 medium
multi-role combat aircraft. Apart from meet-
ing high ranking Indian officials he also visit-
ed the Delhi office of Eurofighter Typhoon.
There, Fox was briefed by Bernhard Gerwert,
CEO of Cassidian Air Systems and Chairman
of the Supervisory Board of Eurofighter on
the current status of the Eurofighter
Typhoon MMRCA campaign.
On this occasion Gerwert said: “We are
(L-R) Bernhard Gerwert, CEO of Cassidian Air Systems and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of
Eurofighter GmbH and UK's Secretary of State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox
www.geopolitics.in
Page 59
g
GEOPOLITICS
grateful for the visit of the UK Secretary of
State for Defence in our Delhi Office and his
encouraging messages to further intensify our
campaign activities. Our governments in the
United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy
are strongly supporting the Eurofighter
Typhoon campaign in India. Europe’s leading
aerospace and defence companies are ready
to enhance their industrial cooperation with
India’s advanced defence industry for the
benefit of all parties. Our goal is to integrate
India into the global supply chain of the
Eurofighter Typhoon by developing a strong
and diverse supplier base in India which will
also cater to this global programme.”
(23)
Strong political support from the UK
augurs well for the company which is com-
mitted to deepening its strategic and indus-
trial partnership with India. Last month the
entire Supervisory Board of Eurofighter met
for the first time in New Delhi. The Supervi-
sory Board has top management representa-
tion from the consortium partners — EADS
(Germany & Spain), BAE Systems (UK) and
Alenia Aeronautica (Italy). In Delhi, the
Board had discussed additional opportunities
for industrial and technological cooperation
with their Indian partners.
“The Eurofighter Supervisory Board is
meeting in New Delhi to underline the
importance we attach to integrating India
into the programme as a true and equal
industrial partner. Even ahead of any con-
tract, we are ready to engage India’s defence
and aerospace industry in joint production
and research & development (R&D) for
Eurofighter Typhoon,” according to Mr. Ger-
wert on that occasion.
Enzo Casolini, CEO, Eurofighter, argues,
“We have the potential to elevate Indo-Euro-
pean political, industrial and technological
relations to a completely new level. All
Eurofighter partner countries are supporting
the Eurofighter campaign in India. Four
nations, four air forces and Europe’s leading
aerospace and defence companies want to
increase their industrial cooperation with
Indian defence companies for mutual benefit
through the most advanced multirole fighter
available on the market.”
The Eurofighter Supervisory Board
meeting has further highlighted its commit-
ment to develop a long-term strategic rela-
tionship with India and to establish a new
benchmark for Europe’s defence and indus-
trial cooperation with Indian defence and
aerospace companies.
December 2010
Americans cost more.qxd 12/1/2010 5:46 PM Page 60

g
HEAVY-DUTY AIRLIFTER: C-130J Hercules is one of the best in its class
of transport aircraft. Its performance is outstanding

WHY DO YOU CHARGE US MORE?

Incredible, as it may sound, India pays far more, sometimes more
GEOPOLITICS than double for hardware that it acquires from the USA.Why are the
acquisition costs so high and what is the way out? ABHIJIT
DEFBIZ
BHATTACHARYYA analyses

P
resident Obama has just conclud-
ed his high-profile visit to India.
Among others, he made it clear
that the USA was ready to expand
defence ties with India and ease
export controls. However, the issue of Indo-
US defence relations is inherently tricky,
complex and virtually a one-way profitable
“employment-and-economics project” for
the USA with not much remaining for India,
as on date.
No wonder, American Defence Secre-
tary, Robert Gates has his eyes firmly on
Indian Air Force modernisation programme
when he says: “I am sure that they (India)
have a big competition going on for a new
modern fighter. We will probably have some
conversations about that.” On being ques-

(24)
www.geopolitics.in December 2010
Americans cost more.qxd 12/1/2010 5:46 PM
tioned about the traditional US restrictions
on high-tech defence exports, Gates had
only a wishful answer “India certainly is high
on our list in terms of a country that I would
like to see those restrictions eased... in ways
that are mutually beneficial.”
“Mutually beneficial” indeed are pious
words used by Gates, and these should glad-
den the Indians aspiring to attain appropri-
ate status in the global theatre. However,
both past and present still do not reflect a
rosy enough picture for India to take a
plunge in the dark. This point becomes clear
only if one looks into combat aircraft and
vessels of US origin and the utility thereof in
India thus far.
Everything suggests for India and the US
being natural allies and one sincerely hopes
that what one is writing today is subsequent-
ly proved wrong thereby giving India the
right and transparent signal pertaining to
purchase of high-end defence hardware
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DEFBIZ
from the USA. As is well known, owing to
indigenous defence industry’s inability to
meet the demands of the Indian armed
forces, approximately 70 per-cent of military
hardware is imported from overseas sources.
Further, as the western manufacturers
face grim reality of drastic reduction in west-
ern military expenditure, the harsh prospect
of over-capacity in their manufacturing
plants may very well result in glut followed
by another bout of retrenchment and
increased unemployment in a shrinking
market where the sellers may have to give a
fresh chase to potentially “prosperous”
defence customer like India.
In this situation of a buyer’s market
(which signifies choice being available to the
buyer rather than the seller), one really
thought India would be able to make a good
bargain thereby making the seller to offer his
product at a price lower than the “usual con-
tract price”. However, that does not seem to
be happening in general thus far, while pur-
chasing military hardware, especially from
the USA.
Take the case studies of US made mili-
tary equipments on sale/offered to/and con-
tracted with India. In 2007, India contracted
with Lockheed Martin for supply of 06
C-130J Hercules medium multirole (trans-
port) aircraft worth $1.02 billion under “for-
eign military/government sales” programme
thereby making it $170 million per unit.
According to Military Balance-2010, these
aircraft are “for special forces operations
configuration with AN/AAR-47 missile
approach warning system and radar-warn-
ing receivers”.
Obviously, there does appear to be some
special stuff embedded in the aircraft to be
used by the Indian Air Force, which takes the
price of each flying machine to $170 million.
However, it appears from Jane’s all the
world’s aircraft 2010-2011 that the price of
same type of aircraft sold to Australia in 1995
cost $55 million; and the “baseline price of
C-130J for US Air Force quoted as $67 mil-
lion in early 2002”, and “multilayer procure-
ment of 40 C-130J-30s for US Air Force unit
price $67.5 million”.
Again in 2003, contract for one aircraft
for Air Force Reserve Command was worth
$70.5 million. Thus the wide variation of
more than US $100 million per aircraft
between Australia and USA on one hand and
India on the other is intriguing, USA’s consis-
tent claim of India as a “strategic partner”
notwithstanding. Why did the price of the
same type of aircraft shoot up (so high)
when sold to India? Can it be solely
(25)
explained in terms of inflations and rising
costs of production?
In 2008, India placed an order with Boe-
ing for 08 P-8i maritime patrol/anti-subma-
rine aircraft (“to replace current Ilyushin-38
and Tupolev-142M”) worth $2.1 billion.
“Deliveries due 2013-2015” reports the Mili-
tary Balance 2010. Since Indian Navy is the
“first overseas customer”, it is neither possi-
ble nor feasible to compare the unit price
thereof with any other overseas customer of
this flying machine. Suffice it to appreciate
that each aircraft is costing Indian Navy a lit-
tle over ` 1,125 crore.
Nothing more can be said, as yet! Inter-
estingly Boeing P-8i is not yet operational in
the USA too. Although US Navy has ordered
a total of “72 aircraft, plus 12 for training”,
Boeing is “confident of securing export
orders” and the “US Navy had sought inter-
national partners to share development of
the aircraft”. Initially, in early 2002, potential
buyers were expected to be Australia, Cana-
da and Italy, which were to begin negotia-
tions “concerning cost and work-sharing
aspects of collaborative venture”.
However, all “three countries withdrew
by mid-2005”. Not unexpectedly after the
retreat of three developed countries, took
place the “early” entry of India with a $2.1
billion order for an aircraft, which was still
far (five years) away from development and
production line. Jane’s 2010-2011 reports
that the “unique aspects of Indian
P-8 requirements include provision of aft
(rear)-facing radar to give full hemisphere
coverage, a magnetic anomaly detection sys-
tem and compatibility with depth charges”.
The USA is aiming to sell up to “$5.8 bil-
lion of military-transport aircraft to New
Delhi”. Thus, India’s proposed 10 Boeing
C-17A Globemaster III medium transport
multirole aircraft will be worth $580 million
per unit. At present, only 25 C-17 Globemas-
ter aircraft have been contracted for sale to
six customers (Australia, Canada, UK, NATO,
Qatar and United Arab Emirates).
“Qatar, which signed agreement to
obtain two aircraft on July 21, 2008, at a
total cost of around $400 million”— will,
therefore, pay $200 million per unit in
compared to India’s US $580 million per
(identical) aircraft. This is surprising. Why
does USA charge India virtually triple the
cost for the same aircraft supplied to
Qatar? Jane’s 2010-2011 reports that “on
February 24, 2009, United Arab Emirates
announced intention of placing of order
for total of 04 aircraft at cost of $1.2 bil-
lion” thereby fixing the unit cost of the
December 2010
Americans cost more.qxd 12/1/2010 5:46 PM
aircraft at $300 million.
Thus, the $200 million price tag for Qatar
and $300 million for UAE prima facie do not
impress an Indian to find his country end up
paying a whopping $580 million for the
same type of machine originating from the
same manufacturer! One, therefore, can only
express regret at such huge price fluctuation,
which does not help the cause of India’s
“defence finance” at all.
There, however, is no doubt that the
quality of American aviation
continues to be top class, which under-
standably is the magnet for
overseas clients. As the Amer-
icans are conscious of the unmatched quali-
ty and technology of their product, they also
tend to be difficult at times, and try to arm
twist those customers who may
dare have a contrary view.
And here lies the
danger for India as a
customer of US military aircraft.
The bottom line could be an extreme
American reluctance to part with their “lat-
est and best technology”. So much could be
the US resistance that even UK is not
immune from Washington DC’s sporadic
robust obstinacy. Thus, during his first visit
as Defence Secretary to Washington in June,
2010, a “frustrated Dr. Liam Fox” declared:
“We expect the United States to deliver us
what we were promised.” According to Jane’s
Defence Weekly (September 22nd 2010),”
The checks that the US imposes on its allies,
including the UK, are unnecessarily burden-
some and have costly side effects.”
Washington “requires an individual
export authorisation for even the most ano-
dyne components, including bolts or rubber
hoses designed for military aircraft”.
This piece would remain incomplete
without referring to the USA’s latest technol-
ogy demonstrator to the world; Lockheed
Martin manufactured twin-engine F-22 Rap-
tor and the single engine F-35 JSF (joint strike
fighter) Lightning. Conceived in 1981 and
first delivered in September, 2003, the origi-
nal 648 F-22 Raptor aircraft production pro-
gramme of 1991 was reduced to 442 in Janu-
ary, 1994. The planned procurement further
fell to 339 and subsequently to 333 and then
to 295 in 2001. Subsequently in December
2004, US Department of Defence cut total
procurement to 180 aircraft. Ultimate total
now is to be 187 F-22 Raptor for the US
Air Force.
With the advent of President Obama’s
www.geopolitics.in
Page 62
g
DEFBIZ
IN GREAT DEMAND: India will get
10 Boeing C-17A Globemaster III
medium transport multirole aircraft
from US.
administration it was
decided/announced to halt and then termi-
nate production. According to Jane’s all the
world’s aircraft 2010-2011, “This decision was
announced by Defence Secretary Robert
Gates on April 06, 2009 and confirmed by US
Senate on July 21, 2009 with a 58 to 40 vote in
favour of halting production.” That all was
not well to the multi-billion dollar project
and production of the much-publicised F-22
Raptor had become clear in July 2007 itself
when the “US House Appropriation Commit-
tee enacted legislation banning export of
the F-22”.
The tale of the single engine joint strike
fighter F-35 Lightning, however, is somewhat
different as it is a multi-nation risk-sharing
project. The USA aside, UK, Australia, Cana-
“INDIA
CERTAINLY IS
HIGH ON OUR
LIST IN TERMS
OF A COUNTRY
THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE
THOSE RESTRICTIONS
EASED... IN WAYS THAT ARE
MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL.”
ROBERT GATES,
US DEFENCE SECRETARY
(26)
da, France, Greece, Israel, Singapore, Spain
and Sweden have “briefed on JSF pro-
gramme”. Initial planning called for some
3000 F-35s for USA and UK but US Navy and
Marine Corps requirement cut in 2003 to 680
with US Air Force seeking 1763 aircraft,
“although significant
reduction expected in
eventual quantity”. Foreign customer
Canada has reduced its requirement from 80
to 65; Netherlands from 85 to 52 and
“the planned UK procurement pro-
gramme may also be reduced signifi-
cantly as part of major cost-saving efforts”.
Cancellation understandably implies
financial loss and the loss inevitably leads to
search for new customers. Seen thus, one can
appreciate as to why and how F-35 was also
offered to India in July 2007 as potential fol-
low-on to current multirole combat aircraft
programme. What, however, remains unsaid
is that no US government can afford to offer
the “latest and the best technology state-of-
the art fighter aircraft” to India at a competi-
tive price because of the twin compulsions of
Pakistani objection and Chinese annoyance.
That being the case, is India going to be
offered not the best but the “second best”
and at a price higher than those offered to
other western users and customers hostile to
India? One hopes that it is not going to be the
case as Obama sounded sincere on
Indian soil about the deepening of Indo-US
strategic ties.
It is a sad reality that today India is being
sandwiched between Moscow and Washing-
ton in matters of military hardware.
USSR/Russia offered the best and the latest
in the past. Some segments of the USA too
want to, but cannot do so as successive US
governments have acknowledged existence
of rigid export controls but have failed to
loosen the checks owing to opposition from
US Congress. Even President Obama may not
be the best person to take on and undo what
his predecessors could not do thus far.
Hence, India needs to remember the ground
reality of cost, quality, control and rigid
checks of the US aviation and the acquisition
thereof for its Air Force.
(The author is an alumnus of the National
Defence College of India and a Member,
International Institute for Strategic
Studies, London)
December 2010
Document1 11/26/2010 2:48 PM Page 1
Number Cruncher.qxd 12/1/2010 5:14 PM Page 4

797 POLICEMEN g
DIED ON DUTY IN ONE YEAR IN INDIA
CENTRAL RESERVE Police Force (CRPF ) topped the list with 191 such cases. Others
were from state police and para-military forces like BSF (Border Secu-
rity Force), CRPF and NSG(National Security Guard) were killed
during a period from September 1, 2009 and August 31 this
year. Uttar Pradesh and BSF followed CRPF in casualties
with 99 and 64 cases respectively. During 2008 Septem-
GEOPOLITICS

NUMBERS
GAME
31.6
BILLION
DOLLARS
ber and August last year, the police forces lost 841 lives
with UP topping the list with 107 cases followed by WAS THE
CRPF (81) and BSF (72). Punjab Police lost 57 police- TOTAL US
men during the period while Naxal-affected state
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh had 43 and 21 casualties MILITARY
respectively. The figures for Jammu and Kashmir (49),
West Bengal (48), Shastra Sena Bal (29), Railway Pro-
SALES IN 2010
tection Force (18), Central Industrial Security force (8) OVERSEEN BY the Defense
and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (6). Security Cooperation
Agency (DSCA) in the United
States. The sales topped the

200
$30 billion mark for the third
consecutive year. Sales

8
CENTRAL AFRICAN
NATIONS HAVE SIGNED A
SMALL ARMS TREATY
THAT OBSERVERS hope will bring stability to
the region. Experts with the United Nations
say Central Africa is one of the world’s most
profitable markets for arms smuggling, amid
simmering conflicts, from oil separatists
along Angola’s Western coast, to the Lord’s
Resistance Army, and a series of rebellions in
eastern Congo.
under the government-to-
PLUS CRPF, BSF government sales program
PERSONNEL called Foreign Military Sales
HAVE (FMS) were $25.2 billion.
COMMITTED Non-FMS security coopera-
tion cases managed by DSCA
SUICIDE under various security coop-
eration authorities were $6.4
SINCE 2007 owing to reasons like depression, marital
billion. The DoD programme
discord and financial issues in the last four years. The
data provided
for support of Afghanistan's
security forces using the
by the govern-
Afghanistan Security Forces
ment has
Fund (ASFF) made up the
revealed the
majority of non-FMS securi-
figures since
ty cooperation cases in fiscal
2007. The CRPF
year 2010 and totaled some
had the larger
$4.7 billion. The government
number of sui-
of Israel at $4 billion led the
cides at 143
FMS customer list with the
while the BSF
highest value in sales,
had 75.
followed by the Government
of Egypt at $2.6 billion. Israel
and Egypt are also the largest
recipients of Foreign Military

60
Financing (FMF) funds
appropriated by Congress
through the State Depart-
ment to be used to pay for
purchases of US defense
AIRCRAFT articles and services.

CRASHED IN
THREE YEARS.
AS MANY as 60 military aircraft
including fighter jets and helicopters
have crashed in the last three finan-
cial years, the Lok Sabha has been
informed. Forty-eight persons
including five civilians were also
killed in these crashes in different
parts of the country. 20 civilians have
been injured in these accidents.

(28)
www.geopolitics.in December 2010
Number Cruncher.qxd 12/1/2010
10 426
BILLION
DOLLARS IS
THE
ESTIMATED
ARMS
EXPORT
FROM RUSSIA
THIS YEAR. In the past 10
years, Russian arms exports
have soared, growing from
$3.7 billion in 2000 to $5.8
billion in 2004 and from $7.5
billion in 2007 to the present
$10 million. With contracts
totalling $34 billion, Russia
is the second-largest
exporter of arms and mili-
tary equipment after the
United States, and it is
1000
steadily expanding its pres-
ence on the arms market.
Russia’s state-run arms
exporter Rosoboronexport
accounts for 85 per cent of
the country’s arms sales
worldwide, with the remain-
der coming from several
companies authorised to
deal in arms on the global
market. Russia has com-
pletely changed its arms-
export model. Instead of
using arms as a means to
ensure military and political
balance in the Third World,
Russia now sees the arms
trade as a business. Cus-
tomers now buy full-fledged
weapons systems with 20-
30-year warranty and post-
warranty support contracts.
www.geopolitics.in
5:17 PM Page 5
g
NUMBERSGAME
TERRORISTS
TRIED TO SNEAK
INTO J&K THIS
YEAR.
INFILTRATION ATTEMPTS years. While 168 militants were
across the Line of Control contin- killed, the Army lost 37 soldiers in
ue unabated, as terrorists having thwarting infiltration bids since
attempted to sneak into the bor- 2008. “The Army has adopted a
der state this year. Defence min- robust counter-infiltration strate-
ister A K Antony , in a written gy, which has an appropriate mix
reply to Lok Sabha, has said that of technology and human
1,253 terrorists had tried to infil- resources put together to check
trate into J&K over the last three infiltration effectively,’’ he said.
1582
CRORE IS THE
AMOUNT
DRDO WILL
INVEST
IN 'AVIATION hub' Hyderabad. The State-owned
Defence Research and Development Organisation SCIENTISTS HAVE
(DRDO) said it willl be spending around this sum
on development activities in and around Hyder- LEFT DRDO
abad over the next five years. "About
BETWEEN 2006 and 2010.
`650 crore will be invested for
Even as the country is talk-
augmenting the missile man-
ing about indigenisation in
ufacturing programme,
the defence sector, India's
while `350 crore will go into
premier military research
developing a hypersonic
body, Defence Research and
wind tunnel for testing
Development Organisation
scram jet engine, which
(DRDO) is on an average losing one scientist
will be six times faster
every two days to a plum post in the corporate
than sound velocity,"
world. According to the Ministry of Defence,
according to scientif-
in the year 2009, in the aftermath of the reces-
ic adviser to the
sion and the Sixth Pay Commission, the num-
defence ministry and
ber of scientists leaving DRDO declined, as
DRDO Director Gen-
only 191 out of 7,400 quit their jobs. Till June
eral VK Saraswat.
this year, only 98 quit.
115 IS THE NUMBER OF FIGHTER
PLANES INDIA PURCHASED
DURING 2005-09, making it the world's leading
buyer of fighters during the last five years. India is
followed by the UAE with 87 and Israel with 83
fighter aircraft exporter, the US, bought only 33
fighters during the same period, according to a
report by the Stockholm International Peace
fighter aircraft buys. Ironically, the world's top Research Institute (SIPRI). In a report pub-
lished on November 10, SIPRI said that
the US had sold 341 fighter jets, up from
286 planes sold during the previous five-year
period, while Russia sold 219 planes, down from
331, and France sold 75, up from 58.
December 2010
(29)
Pipavav Interview.qxd 12/1/2010 5:36 PM
LONG HAUL AT PIPAVAV
Pipavav Shipyard Limited and Nikhil Gandhi have set a tearing pace in the ship-building
business. Is Gandhi a long term player? Will Pipavav be a trail-blazer in the huge offset
business that will come with defence contracts? ROHIT SHRIVASTAVA talks to the man and
pieces together the Pipavav story
P
IPAVAV SHIPYARD Limited (PSL)
has received permission that
allows the shipyard to bid for
construction of submarines,
destroyers, frigates, LDP, cov-
erettes as also aircraft carriers. This makes it
the first shipyard in the private sector to
receive such a licence. The Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
issued the licence after screening by the
ministries of home and defence and other
related agencies.
The licence permits Pipavav Shipyard to
build five warships in a year. With the
average construction time of 3-4 years for a
warship, Pipavav can take up construction of
up to 20 warships at any given time, the
company said. Pipavav is the only modular
defence-focused shipbuilding company in
the country, which can build warships in a
www.geopolitics.in
Page 60
g
GEOPOLITICS
FOCUS
much shorter time and in a cost-efficient
manner, the company said. The shipyard is
capable of building new aircraft carriers and
even dry-dock INS Vikramaditya (ex-Admiral
Gorshkov) for repairs and maintenance,
simultaneously.
All this happened earlier this month, but
some time ago a gung-ho and ebuillent
Nikhil Gandhi told journalists: “Our order
book is very comfortable and we are expect-
ing some more development during the
course of the next two quarters. Secondly, we
have the order book fully intact with `1,000
crore advances from the customers. We have
construction of the ships going on in full
swing. We have the best of man and machin-
ery to deliver the goods to the customers, on
time and within the specified cost.”
Does the evolution and robust growth of
companies like Pipavav tell us about the
(30)
coming of age of the Indian private sector?
More so, the private sector segment of the
Indian defence business has slowly begun to
take shape and acquire capabilities that are
essential for self-sufficiency in indigenous
production. The emergence of the Indian
defence market and the offset clause has
ushered in an era of robust growth for the
country’s defence industry.
India’s maritime requirement has
increased by leaps and bounds in the last
decade. The defence shipyards are short of
space for expansion and new shipyards with
larger dry dock facilities are required for
reducing construction time. The gap is being
filled up by private shipyards which have
begun to capture and contribute to the busi-
ness in this regard.
Nikhil Gandhi commented some
months ago: “This area has huge untapped
December 2010
Pipavav Interview.qxd 12/1/2010
WHAT WE HAVE
ACHIEVED IN
INFRASTRUCTURE AS A
COUNTRY IS MERELY 10
PER CENT. THERE’S
ROOM FOR 90 PER CENT,
WHICH WILL BE
ACHIEVED IN 20 YEARS.
THINGS WILL SPEED UP
FROM HERE. IN PIPAVAV,
WE TURN AROUND
SHIPS IN ONE-AND-HALF
DAYS, AND THE
CUSTOMER, WHO SAVED
SEVERAL DOLLARS WITH
A FASTER TURNAROUND,
WAS WILLING TO SHARE
AN EXTRA DOLLAR. IN
REALITY, IT IS NOT SO
BAD, AS CUSTOMERS
ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR
BETTER SERVICE.
NIKHIL GANDHI
CHAIRMAN, PIPAVAV SHIPYARD
www.geopolitics.in
5:36 PM Page 61
g
FOCUS
potential. We want to make sure that we are
in for the long haul. We want to demonstrate
this very strongly and that is the reason why
we are putting in this kind of commitment.
No one does it the way we are doing it. We
raised `500 crore five months ago and have
put in `1,500 crore off the table. So, we are
basically here for a long haul.”
Long haul indeed, considering the
investments and gestation in such mam-
moth projects. Around 95 per cent of India’s
foreign trade is through sea lanes. For
strategic reasons, it is critical for India to be
self- sufficient in the maritime domain, be it
in ship building, ports, shipping and related
infrastructure and technology. India has the
entire essential requirements for develop-
ment of this sector — a long coastline, large
labour force, raw material, engineering
capacity and rising economy and maritime
demands — both naval and commercial.
Pipavav Shipyard, situated on the
Saurashtra coast of Gujrat is one of the
emerging shipyards of India and considered
to be the largest shipyard in the country.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, while
dedicating the shipyard to the nation in June
this year, said, “I have often said India is des-
tined to be a major trading nation of the
world and if India is destined to be a major
trading nation of the world, I think shipping,
ship building and management of our ports
assume great importance in our scheme of
development planning.”
Two parameters are implied to judge the
shipyards production capacity, fabrication
capacity in dead weight tonnage and the size
of dry dock. A dry dock is a place where a
ship is erected. The 662 m X 65 m, sized dry
dock - incidentally, the third largest in the
world — can accommodate a ship of almost
equal size for construction.
This dry dock facility is capable of con-
structing two INS Vikramadityas, of 40,000
DWT and 270m in length, one after another,
without any problem. This capacity makes it
suitable for any type of ship construction.
Another dry dock, much larger than the first
one is under construction. The dead weight
tonnage (the total weight of steel that can be
fabricated in the shipyard) is around 144,000
tonnes which is more than the combined
capacity of all shipyards in India. Simply put,
in a year Pipavav Shipyard can build a ship
of 144,000 tonnes, which is more than the
DWT of the Nimitz class aircraft carrier.
Indian maritime defence has gone
beyond merely Navy and Coast Guard. Since
26/11, coastal security has taken an alto-
gether new dimension with focus on fast
patrol vessels. Offshore vessels are being
considered in large number for coastal
(31)
police and other agencies operating in the
domain. Acquisition from abroad is a costly
and time-consuming affair. With the defence
shipyards busy in naval projects, it is the
upcoming shipyards that can deliver these
urgently required small vessels.
Pipavav has forayed into this sector with
orders from ONGC for 12 offshore vessels
and has also emerged as the lowest bid con-
tender for five Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel
orders. It is expected that all the orders
would be delivered in the next 36 months.
Ship manufacturing in India is still done
by the old method of erection in the dry
dock while the world has moved to the block
building method. Block building method
saves time and is more precise. In this
method blocks of steel are made based on
the design before beginning of the ship erec-
tion. The blocks are then assembled as per
the design in the dry dock. So each block is
simultaneously made and they are just
required to be welded together saving time.
In fact, simultaneous work on different ship
can go on. The time taken for a ship erection
in the dry dock comes down while providing
flexibility and economy of time.
To help in this whole process of ship
erection are the two goliath cranes with 600
tonnes lift capacity. Together, they can lift up
to 1200 tonnes — the highest in India. That
PIPAVAV SHIPYARD is located within the
vicinity of Pipavav Port, Gujarat. Pipavav
Shipyard was initially conceived as a
ship-dismantling yard. For this purpose,
the yard was developed with two large
wet basins each measuring 680 metres
length and a respective width of 60
metres and 65 metres. These are among
the largest wet basins built in the world.
The yard offers the flexibility of being
easily adaptable to a shipyard facility.
Given its size, Pipavav Shipyard has the
potential to become one of the largest
shipyard complexes in the world. The
yard has the distinction of being one of
the five largest docks in the world and
largest in the country, and will therefore
be equipped to handle almost any size of
ship. The project is inherited with
various unique features in its design,
location, facilities, size, integration,
environment compliant, funding, etc.
December 2010
Pipavav Interview.qxd 12/1/2010 5:36 PM Page 62

g
FOCUS
On the under-construction ship
Currently export (Panamax vessels) and OSV (Offshore Supply
Vessel) are under construction and propose to undertake con-
struction of naval OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) after receipt of
final order.
On the big ticket deals — ONGC Offshore supply Vehicle and
naval OPV deal
PSL has received orders from ONGC for supply of 12 OSVs valued
at about `550 crore and emerged as the lowest bidder for construc-
tion of five Naval OPVs, which are valued at about `2,600 crore.
On delivery schedules
The delivery dates of the existing orders are spread out: they will
be delivered in the next 30 months.
On monthly and annual tonnage capacity
Annual steel fabrication capacity is 144,000 MT, which is more
than all other domestic PSUs, Defence and Private shipyards
put together.
On the Navy being Pipavav’s main focus area
Our current focus is on the naval and offshore segment. The
Indian Navy has come out with several tenders and enquiry. PSL
has already submitted bids and we are in the process to bid in
line with the tenders process. Recently, PSL emerged as the low-
est bidder for supply of 5 OPVs. It has also received enquiry and
tenders from the Coast Guard besides offshore assets including
jack-up, platforms, etc.
On plans for subsurface and aircraft carrier construction
PSL also intends to construct large aircraft carriers in collabora-
tion with foreign designers and Indian defence PSUs. PSL
facilities are also capable to have dry docking and refittment of
naval assets including aircraft carriers. Pipavav is the only
shipyard in the country that can build new large aircraft carriers
(e.g., INS Vikramaditya, Ex-Admiral Gorshkov).
On foreign collaborations
Pipavav has established technical partnerships with global
industry experts, including SembCorp Marine, Singapore
(owned by Temasek, the investment arm of the Singapore Gov-
ernment), the largest offshore asset construction company in the
world and KOMAC, Korea (a leading ship design consulting
firm). In addition, it is also teaming up with several key global
players across the globe, including the Russian Ministry of
Defence, to enhance its capabilities to meet the Indian defence
sector requirements on the naval front.
On domestic tie-ups
Pipavav has set up a state-of-the-art and most modern infra-
structure and facility. Pipavav is first Indian company to have
modular block-making facility, almost fully- outfitted. As per
information, defence PSUs have the largest order books and are
not able to meet the delivery schedule as envisaged. PSL, if
required, has the arrangement to execute the orders in order to
deliver on time through partnerships with defence PSUs.
On building smaller vessels
Pipavav has state-of-the-art and most modern infrastructure
including fabrication capacity. Currently, Pipavav has the largest
capacity and if required can also convert its second wet dock
into dry dock (740 mtrs X 60 mtrs.) with smaller capex in order to
cater to the increasing demands from the Navy and the Coast
Guard.
On the financial health of PSL
Pipavav currently has an order book of $900 million comprising
export of $785 million and offshore segments (order from
ONGC) of $112 million. It has already received more than $ 230
million as advances from customers. Recently, PSL has become
the lowest bidder for construction of 5 Naval OPVs, which is val-
ued at about `2600 crore.

On global ambitions
Pipavav is currently focused on Indian defence and offshore seg-
ments and will also cater to offset segment, which has a huge
market and potential. Pipavav also plans to cater to US Navy
assets deployed in the region.

On future expansion to allied defence businesses

PSL shall always explore various opportunities in defence
and offshore segments for growth in addition to backward and
forward integration.
- Nikhil Gandhi

shipyards are moving
towards this.
Recently, Defence
TRUE GRIT: Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh dedicates Minister A K Antony
‘Pipavav Shipyard’ India’s largest world-class ship building made a statement
and engineering facility to the nation, in New Delhi on June 1,
regarding the placing
2010. The Union Minister for Shipping, G.K. Vasan is also seen
of orders for the Navy
to both private and
means a ship of 1200 tonnes can be erected public shipyards. He said, “Both public sec-
in two blocks only. Pipavav is the only ship- tor shipyards will have to compete with the
yard with this technology and other defence Indian private shipyards to get projects for
the Indian Navy. So all the Indian Navy’s pro-
curements in future will be from ‘Buy Indian,
Make Indian’ … So, they will have to com-
pete… ‘Buy Indian and Make Indian’ is going
to be the major component of our procure-
ment policy. That will help us to have a
strong defence industrial base in India.” This
statement has made every one from industry
to analysts, eager for the defence production
policy, which is expected early next year, for
speedy indigenisation.

(32)
www.geopolitics.in December 2010
Global eye.qxd 12/1/2010 4:49 PM Page 59
INDIA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN
Nirupama Rao outlines what India as a Consensual Stakeholder in the Indian Ocean means
for India, our neighbours and the world at large, in her wide-ranging assessment
INDIA AND the Indian
Ocean are inseparable. In
the midst of the third largest
ocean in the world, India’s
location is in many ways her
destiny. That is not just a
statement regarding a fact of
geography but of deeper civilizational,
historical, cultural, economic and political
linkages that have been forged between
India and the Ocean that bears its name.
www.geopolitics.in
g
GEOPOLITICS
GLOBALEYE
Throughout history, India’s wellbeing
and prosperity was linked to its access to the
Indian Ocean region. It is no coincidence
that the decolonisation of the littoral coun-
tries of the Indian Ocean region was
catalysed by India’s independence and emer-
gence as a free nation. The Indian diaspora is
a prominent presence in almost all countries
of the region. Apart from the Monsoon, the
India-link, in its broadest sense, is the single
common thread that is visible in the Indian
(33)
Ocean region.
The organic unity of the Indian Ocean
was fractured during the colonial period.
Now, the winds of globalisation are bringing
a fresh bond of unity in the Indian Ocean
region. Globalisation is inseparable from its
maritime dimension, as 90 per cent of glob-
al trade by weight and volume is carried by
sea. India is a major stakeholder and benefi-
ciary of globalisation. As an emerging global
economic and trading power, India has thus
December 2010
Global eye.qxd 12/1/2010 4:49 PM Page 60
a vital stake in maritime security. India’s
global mercantile trade has grown phenome-
nally and now constitutes 41 per cent of our
GDP. 77 per cent of our trade by value, and
over 90 per cent by volume is carried by sea.
India is now projected to become the
fourth largest economy in the world by 2020,
after China, Japan and the US. Our depend-
ence on sea borne trade is expected to
expand exponentially. The maritime dimen-
sion is also vital for our energy security.
India’s oil consumption is expected to rise to
245 million tonnes annually by 2020, with
the country likely to be the world’s single
largest importer of oil by 2050. Our econom-
ic growth would continue to be critically
depended upon the unhindered flow of oil.
The Indian Ocean region is important for
India in terms of trade and as a source of
energy supplies. Trade with the littoral States
of the Indian Ocean constitutes close to 40
per cent of India’s total trade.
The Indian Ocean is virtually a land-
locked ocean. It is distinguished by a land
rim on three sides; Asia to its north, Africa
to its west and SE Asia and Australia to its
East. Access to the region is only possible
through seven established gateways or
choke points. To the east, the Straits of
Malacca, Sunda and Lombok connect the
South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. The
congestion and the narrow width of these
straits make them susceptible to possible
terrorist attacks. The Malacca Straits are the
primary route, through which more than
50,000 vessels transit annually.
To the west, the world’s busiest shipping
lanes pass through the Straits of Hormuz,
which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indi-
an Ocean. The Malacca Straits handle 40 per
cent of world trade; the Straits of Hormuz
handle 40 per cent of all traded crude oil. It is
not hard to imagine the consequences to the
global economy if these choke points are
indeed choked. The Indian Ocean is also one
of the world’s most important waterways,
with 50 per cent of the container traffic and
more than 70 per cent of crude and oil prod-
ucts being carried through it.
The disruption of energy flows in partic-
ular is a considerable security concern for
littoral states, as a majority of their energy
lifelines are sea-based. The world thus has a
vital stake in the stability of the archipelagic
countries. It’s not just the use of waterways
that is important, but access to them as well.
Landlocked countries are now therefore
gaining a new geopolitical significance, for
transit roads and pipelines.
It is a now a widely accepted truism that
the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean region is
a microcosm of global geopolitical trends.
www.geopolitics.in
g
GLOBALEYE
WE HAVE
PRODUCTIVE
BILATERAL
RELATIONS WITH
ALL THE STATES
IN THE INDIAN
OCEAN REGION
There are countries which are developing
rapidly; on the other hand, there are those
which are on the brink of collapse. In
between, there are those which are emerging
from conflict and show promise of making
rapid strides in the future. There are a large
number of democracies in the region but it
cannot be said that democracy is a universal
norm for the region.
A number of countries suffer from weak
governance and regime instability, vulnera-
ble to non-state actors driven by extremist
ideologies. Threats to stability in the region
abound, ranging from terrorism, piracy, war-
lordism, proliferation, smuggling to drug
trafficking. The situation off the Horn of
Africa is a source of particular concern. The
situation in land-locked Afghanistan also
impacts on the Indian Ocean region, as a
substantial portion of the international mili-
tary presence there is dependent on support
from maritime assets and capabilities.
The impact of climate change is of con-
cern to several island states that face a threat
to their very survival. But, the bright side is
that parts of the Indian Ocean littoral are
witnessing an unprecedented economic
boom, driven by positive economic and
demographic factors. The overall picture is
therefore mixed and complicated, not lend-
ing itself to easy categorisation or solutions.
What is certain is that India stands out both
in what it has achieved and the untapped
potential that still lies ahead. In short, the
future of the Indian Ocean region is unthink-
able without India.
By any objective criteria, India has very
significant maritime stakes in the Indian
Ocean. We have a coastline of over 7,500 km.
Between the Lashwadeep and the Andaman
and Nicobar chains we have over 600 islands,
with the southern-most tip just 90 nautical
miles from Indonesia and the northern-most
tip less than 10 nautical miles from Myan-
mar. In terms of maritime security terms
these are significant assets. Our EEZ (Exclu-
sive Economic Zone) is more than 2.5 million
square kms. The mining areas of over
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150,000 sq kms allotted to India under UNC-
LOS (United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea) are about 2000 kms from our
southern-most tip. We have significant inter-
ests in Antarctica as well.
For several decades, India was the only
Asian country to possess an aircraft carrier.
Our naval force posture in the coming years
will require the necessary capabilities in
terms of reach, sustaining power and sea
control. Following the sea-borne terrorist
attacks on 26/11 in Mumbai, concerted
efforts have been undertaken for strength-
ening maritime and coastal security against
threats from sea, with greater involvement
of the Navy, the Coast Guard and all the
coastal states.
As India’s development is predicated on
a stable geo-strategic environment, as a
mature and responsible nation, it is in our
interest that we play an active role in the
architecture of maritime security based on
the twin principles of shared security and
shared prosperity. India is well poised to play
a leadership role in this regard. We have
friendly and productive bilateral relations
with almost all the states in the Indian Ocean
region. Our bilateral relations with Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mauritius, Maldives,
Seychelles, Oman, Madagascar, Kenya and
others give us unprecedented access to a
wide swathe of the Indian Ocean.
Some of these are territorial neighbours
but all are maritime neighbours. We have
historical and civilisational ties with many of
these countries. Some of these countries
have large Indian communities. The broad
spectrum of our ties with these countries has
a strong economic and socio-cultural
dimension. Maritime security thus gives us a
new perspective to our bilateral relations
with these countries. We are actively engaged
with almost all regional bodies that are either
based in or border the Indian Ocean region-
ranging from SAARC (South Asian Associa-
tion for Regional Cooperation), BIMSTEC
(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation), ARF
(ASEAN Regional Forum), ASEAN (Associa-
tion of South East Asian Nations), GCC (Gulf
Cooperation Council), SADC (Southern
Africa Development Community) to the AU
(African Union).
We are interested in building a web of
cooperative relations that brings together all
the stakeholders based on mutual interest
and benefit. Our ‘soft power’ gives us advan-
tages that few other countries can match in
this region. There is almost universal accept-
ance of India’s credentials and recognition of
the vital contribution that we can make for
stability and prosperity of the entire region.
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Our economic growth acts as a driver for
growth across the entire region. Our bilateral
and multilateral assistance programmes are
crucial for the security and development
requirements of a number of countries.
Drawing on its human resources and scien-
tific expertise, India has been assisting
traditionally in areas such as agriculture,
health, education and IT, as also in capacity
building in areas such as hydrography,
oceanography, dealing with climate change,
etc. It is true that optimizing our economic
and technical assistance programmes, even
while integrating them with our larger secu-
rity and strategic interests would yield even
greater benefits. This will require leveraging
India’s soft power and technological
strengths as also ensuring greater synergy
amongst the various instruments that we
can deploy — diplomacy, trade and econom-
ic factors and military assistance.
We are proud of the fact that our Navy
has emerged as a versatile and flexible diplo-
matic instrument to mark India’s presence in
the region. The Ministry of External Affairs
and the Navy have partnered together as
maritime diplomats. There is hardly a port in
the region where our ships are not welcome.
We have the distinction of undertaking naval
exercises in the Indian Ocean with all the
major navies of the world.
The prompt assistance provided by the
Navy in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean
Tsunami was an eye-opener with regard to
our capabilities for providing timely disaster
relief and humanitarian assistance. The Navy
did a commendable job in helping in the
evacuation of over 2280 people from strife-
torn Lebanon under Operation Sukoon. The
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)
initiative, launched by Indian Navy has pro-
vided a forward-looking framework for
constructive engagement among the navies
of the region. This initiative has tremendous
potential as an inclusive forum for all stake-
holders, which have legitimate interests in
the region. Under the ARF, India has con-
tributed to discussions on maritime security.
India has also contributed to regional efforts
for safe navigation in the Malacca Straits.
While India is seen as a net security
provider, we cannot carry the burden of
regional security on our shoulders alone.
There is no doubt that maintaining a
favourable maritime balance will require
development of a credible naval presence
with adequate assets commensurate with
our defence and security interests as well as
those required to discharge the role and
responsibility expected of India by the inter-
national community. The era of gun boat
diplomacy is long over. A robust Indian naval
www.geopolitics.in
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GLOBALEYE
INDIA IS
ENGAGED WITH
OTHER
COUNTRIES IN
THE AREA OF
ANTI-PIRACY IN
INDIAN OCEAN
presence is seen as a necessary contribution
to a cooperative regional security order.
The cooperative burden sharing of naval
forces to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia
is a case in point. Our Navy has discharged
its responsibilities with distinction and is
viewed as an indispensible partner not just
by regional states but by the UN, EU and
NATO naval forces. India is engaged with
other countries on capacity-building and
consultations in the area of anti-piracy to
devise measures for keeping open access
points to avoid choking international trade.
While we are addressing the immediate
threats to maritime security, the internation-
al community must find ways of dealing with
the failed or failing states where violence and
institutional fragility are being exploited by
non-state actors and others which have a
presence of international terrorist groups on
the Indian Ocean littoral which in fact radi-
ate instability in the region as a whole. The
recent global financial and economic crisis
has aggravated the fragility of many littoral
states, some of which are among LDCs.
While addressing the threats posed by
non-state actors is important, we would also
require states themselves to abide by “rules of
the road”. Maintaining free access to the sea is
very much part of defending the ‘Global Com-
mons’. This will require a common vision of
maritime security and freedom of navigation
in accordance with universally agreed princi-
ples of international law and peaceful
settlement of maritime territorial disputes.
The maritime balance in the Indian Ocean
region is linked to developments in South East
Asia, the Pacific Rim and the Mediterranean.
It is unrealistic to presume that we
would be able to insulate our region from
instability elsewhere. Maritime security can-
not be sustained if there is an exclusive focus
on the military dimension alone, for it has
economic, political and social dimensions as
well. It is also unrealistic to expect that any
single power can presume for itself the role
of a “sea-based balancer”. Lastly, coopera-
tion on maritime security issues could
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provide the necessary trust and confidence
to build a flexible and adaptable Pan-Asian
Security Order.
A popular theme in the media is to proj-
ect the Indian Ocean as the new theatre of
big power conflict. A widely read analyst who
has also published a book on the Indian
Ocean recently spoke of India being a “glob-
al pivot state supreme”, in the so-called
tussle between the United States and China.
While this description is flattering, we do not
make policy on the basis of ‘feel-good labels’.
There is no inevitability of conflict.
India views the emerging trends with
realism — building a sustainable regional
security will require a cooperative effort
among all regional countries on the one
hand and all users of the Indian Ocean. As
the main resident power in the Indian Ocean
region, we have a vital stake in the evolution
of a stable, open, inclusive and balanced
security and cooperation architecture in the
region. By definition this would need to be a
consensus-based process, where all the
stakeholders who have a legitimate presence
in the region make their respective contribu-
tions to regional security. India stands for
harnessing the forces of geo-politics for new
forms of cooperation rather than it being
used as an excuse for domination by any sin-
gle country. That is the vision that we aspire
to. And that is the vision we look forward to
realising our partnership with all countries
of the Indian Ocean region.
Let me briefly speak about the Indian
Ocean Rim — Association for Regional
Cooperation (IOR-ARC) that came into exis-
tence in 1997. India was one of the 14 found-
ing member states. Given the growing strate-
gic significance of the Indian Ocean, this
organisation is the only one which aims to
create a web of cooperative relationships
between the now 18 member countries
spanning three continents and three water
bodies: this provides the right balance in
terms of developing the littoral countries,
across the political and geo-political spec-
trum, in a direction where economic,
trade, academic and cultural cooperation
constitutes the core of these relationships.
The political and the strategic subtext of
this organisation’s activities is very relevant
in the current times. Although the organisa-
tion has not been able to fulfil its stated
potential as yet, it does provide us with a
useful platform to articulate our inclusive
non-polarising vision of the future of the
Indian Ocean and its littoral.
(Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao made the
above speech at a National Maritime
Foundation event on November 19, 2010)
December 2010
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PANORAMA

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www.geopolitics.in December 2010
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THE BOUT ODYSSEY
PANORAMA

According to an official: “Viktor Bout is one of the most dangerous men on the face of the
Earth.” The so-called “Merchant of Death”, who has been second on the US intelligence
agencies’ most-wanted list — after Osama bin Laden, had a weapons smuggling empire
which lasted at least a decade and spanned three continents, including in Africa’s most
murderous hotspots.

VIKTOR BOUT, the Russian US PROSECUTORS claim the HOWEVER ABSURD it

national accused of selling arms he sold or brokered have may seem, we will
arms to rogue nations, is fuelled conflicts and supported be pressing the Thai
cooling his heels at a regimes in Afghanistan, Angola, Government to act
Manhattan detention cen- the Democratic Republic of the to get the US to
ter, after pleading not guilty Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra return Viktor to Thai-
to terrorism charges. Bout was Leone and Sudan. land,” she said, explaining
extradited from Bangkok to late that according to Viktor Bout’s
November, two lawyers his
years after extradition
being contravened
ensnared in Thai law.
a U.S. sting.

CHARLES TAYLOR-CUR-
“EXTREME UNJUSTICE,” fumed CREATED THE movie ‘Lord of RENTLY, on trial at the Spe-
Russian Foreign Minister War.’ The film stars Nicolas Cage cial Court for Sierra
Sergei Lavrov. Said the as Yuri Orlov, a Ukrainian gun Leone at The Hague
Foreign Ministry: runner apparently modeled on for war crimes
“There is no doubt that Viktor Bout, with other charac- allegedly perpetrat-
the illegal extradition of ters resembling former Liberian ed during the 1990’s
V.A. Bout came as a President Charles Taylor and his civil war in Sierra
consequence of unprece- son Chuck. Leone, is thought to be
dented political pressure” from a beneficiary of Mr Bout’s
the United States. alleged arms car-
go business.

BEMBA, a former Vice-President

of the Democratic Republic of HE WAS also fortunate to call Bout is also believed to
the Congo (DRC), is on trial for many African leaders his have supplied arms to
crimes against humanity and war ‘friends’. These included; Osama bin Laden
crimes at the International Crim- Angolan rebel leader Jonas and the Taliban.
inal Court. Malheiro Savimbi, Mobutu This came to light
Sese Seko post Bout’s arrest
two years back.
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GEOPOLITICS
COVERSTORY

HOW GOOD ARE WE ?

NO MEAN FEAT: Indian Navy ships play an important role in maritime defence and security

www.geopolitics.in December 2010

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COVERSTORY December.qxd 12/1/2010
For a country with one of the largest coastlines in
the world, India has paid little attention towards the
sea. Post-26/11, there has been considerable
attention on the need to bolster and beef up our
maritime defence. The Indian Navy plays a crucial
role in this. How prepared are we? VENKAT
BHARATHAN analyses
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4:35 PM Page 41
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COVERSTORY
W
HAT IS our Navy? What
does it do for the
nation? Why is it called
the silent service ? Is it
strong enough with
adequate force levels is
the question often asked about it.
Last things first — Imagine just off the
coast, naval operations become invisible out
of sight with no immediate impact on life
ashore. Our operations are neither seen
nor heard. That is why the Navy is truly a
silent service.
It is critically in this regard that the Indi-
an Navy both as an effective component of
India’s foreign policy and a potent econom-
ic/commercial contributor would make a
crucial difference to our nation’s calculus of
global influence in the comity of sea-faring
nations.
The Indian Navy is the image of India in
portrait, presence, essence and existence. It
represents India in all its colours and secu-
larism. Its people are true ambassadors of
our country in form and fettle.
THE GOOD NEWS FIRST
In six decades, the Indian Navy has trans-
formed itself from a brown water flotilla to a
reckonable blue water fleet that has readi-
ness and reach with long sturdy sea legs.
Over the years it has developed a unique
three dimensional capability to silently per-
form with professional flair and compe-
tence.
The legacy of its consistent leadership of
vision, value, steadfastness in planning and
execution, enabled it to reach where it is
today. A Navy with global recognition,
regional respect that displays enthusiastic
readiness to be both proactive and reactive
whenever called for.
In 1965, 1971 and Kargil operations we
not only stood our ground but carried the
battle to the enemy when needed.
Operation “Sukoon” to bring stranded
Indians/foreigners out of Lebanon is a clas-
sic example of Indian Navy reach. The dedi-
cated post-Tsunami assistance/aid to
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives while looking
after its own affected areas displays its flexi-
bility and readiness. Escorting the US Navy
in the Malacca Straits is its hallmark of inter-
national cooperation. Its aid to civil power
during earthquake, floods and the very
recent display of force in dealing with pirates
are prime examples of optimal use of sea
power with sense and sensibility.
Over the decades our policy of engaging
other navies in joint exercises is proving to
be fruitful. Providing training opportunities
December 2010
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COVERSTORY December.qxd 12/1/2010 4:35 PM
to many navies like Bangaldesh, Sri
Lanka, Myanmar, South Africa, Oman are
quality value add ons. Hydrographic sup-
port to some Indian Ocean littorals and
constabulary assistance to a few African
countries have spread goodwill. The
recently held Indian Ocean symposium
has added to India’s international stature.
In short, it would be correct to affirm
that the Indian Navy is fully capable of
carrying out all, sorts of war tasks, with a
high degree of professionalism.
It can also contain the Pakistan Navy
with a degree of certainty.
Its cooperative engagement with USA,
UK, France, Russia, China, Japan, Indone-
sia, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri
Lanka has given it reciprocity of
understanding, goodwill and respect. Its
Tsunami effort has won the appreciation
of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
India’s look-east policy is slowly paying off
and in many ways stemming Chinese
influence
THE NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS
The steady growth of the Indian military,
particularly the Indian Navy has to be
acknowledged. Yet analysis and introspec-
tion would reveal significant hollowness
in our overall security calculus, be it
maritime or in other dimensions.
India has to become at least a reckon-
able maritime power with self-reliant
military, commercial potential and
sustainable technology support.
We have moved forward to becoming
a builder’s Navy from being a completely
buyer’s Navy. There are however severe
technological limitations in weapon sys-
tems, ordnance, propulsion machinery.
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Page 42
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COVERSTORY
COMING TO warship
building, I would
like to mention
that with our
expanding mar-
itime responsibilities
and interests, we would need to maintain our
force levels and increase numbers to a degree.
This would require our shipyards to deliver ships
at the rate that the Navy and Coast Guard need
them to realise their replacement and expansion
plans.
While we started early in our quest for self-
reliance in warship building, our three Defence
PSU shipyards did not keep pace with the expan-
sion plans of the Navy and the Coast Guard.
Unless spare warship construction capacity is cre-
ated, the demand-supply gap will continue to
expand. While capacity expansion in the com-
mercial sector will have positive spin-offs for war-
ship construction, dedicated capacity expansion
for warship construction is inescapable.
In our quest for self-reliance, the Navy is fully
committed to participate in, and promote any gov-
ernment initiative to enhance indigenous warship
construction capacity. We need to harness the
resources of all the stake-holders in this endeavour,
both government and private in a coordinated and
synergistic effort. In the process, as customers, the
Navy would also need to introspect and find ways
to overcome any internal procedural impediments
that may have a negative effect on the productivity
of our defence shipyards.
Former Navy Chief, Admiral Suresh Mehta
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naval aviation assets, in terms of fighters,
maritime aircraft, helicopters and their
weapons are not yet our forte. It makes us
“punch dependent” on external sources
like Russia, USA, France, Israel and the
developed world. External dependencies
and vastly increased costs of assets, sys-
tems do impact acquisitions.
NAVAL ASSETS
A quick glance of Navy holdings would
show that most of the Navy assets are
nearly two decades plus, in all the three
dimensions of warfare. The cycle of
replacements cannot keep up the num-
bers required. Retro fit options are being
exercised as viable alternatives
THE RUSSIAN EFFECT
Our past of being Russia (as Soviet Union)
dependent while slowly being disengaged
would take considerable time, effort and
mind-set. Another negative factor is the
reality of coping with a weakened military
structure of Russia. It has definite
downside effects on operations and com-
bat readiness.
THE ACQUISITION STATIC
The nature of the beast in military acqui-
sition in terms of money value as well as
gestation times calls for tremendous for-
ward planning and synergy. Even today’s
improved processes are unable to cope
due to inherent complexities as well as
the prevailing compartmentalised work
culture of our argumentative democracy.
Delays in acquisitions with time and cost
overruns are common-place and
well known. All our ship-yards need
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COVERSTORY

THE NEED OF TIMELY

IN SUPPORT of the nation’s growing strengths
and responsibilities, the Indian Navy is deter-
mined to create and sustain a three dimensional
technology enabled and networked force capable
of safeguarding our maritime interests on the
high seas and projecting combat power across
the littoral
We seek to evolve relevant conceptual frame-
works and acquire war-fighting capabilities to
operate across the full spectrum of conflict. The
Indian Navy will also be prepared to undertake
benign and humanitarian tasks in our maritime
neighbourhood, whenever required.
Our operational endeavours shall be under-
pinned by continuous upgradation of human
skills of the Navy’s uniformed and civilian
manpower. We will aim for enhancement of the
quality of life and the wellbeing of the naval
community
Ensuring combat readiness, professional
competence and willingness to transform by
adopting change will remain our primary focus.
So said the Indian Navy’s “Vision Docu-
ment” of May 2006. In fact, this statement and
its accompanying “broad guiding principles”
did, say experts, assert India’s resolve to trans-
form its Navy from a ‘brown water’
coastal defense force to a formidable
‘blue water’ fleet. Blue water navy has
indeed two connotations: the technical
and the political. Technically, a naval
force having the capability to operate
200 nautical miles (320 km) from its
sea shore into the deep sea on the
longer ranges can be graded as the blue
water navy. However, politically, it is
the long range extension of the state’s
presence, as the former Indian Navy
Chief of Staff, Admiral Jayant Nadkarni
once said, “Legitimate use…of a Blue
Water navy is power projection which is
necessary” for a “power like India”.
Finally, the Indian Navy
brought out in 2009 what is
called an amended “maritime doctrine”, first
announced in 2004. The doctrine represents a
geo-strategic environment that may require the
Indian Navy to be prepared for expeditious
warfare, amphibious operations and deploy-
ment at long distances. Importantly, it has a
concept of the kind of platforms the Indian
Navy would, require to meet these challenges
in the form of the aircraft carriers, landing
platform docks, landing ships and other assets
to compliment these platforms. A new chapter
on “Naval Combat Power” has been added
underlining the
ever-changing demands on three critical
components — conceptual, physical and
human — in the context of rapid changes in
technology and consequently tactics.
To put simply, the Indian Navy must have
the “capability” to protect overall economic
interests in the country’s economic exclusive
zone, thwart outside interference, influence
over regional competitors, adapt to littoral
warfare, and execute the nation’s eventual
nuclear second strike. And in this, the impor-
tance of platforms in the forms of warships, be
they the surface fleet or carriers or sub-
marines, is too obvi-
ous to explain.
There is a near-
consensus among
India’s strategic ana-
lysts that challenges
to the Indian Navy in
Indian Ocean could
emanate essentially
from three sources:
the United States,
Pakistan and China.
Of these, the main-
stream strategic
thought in India
about the American
presence in the
Indian Ocean
seems to have changed. India no more talks
seriously of making Indian Ocean a zone of
peace by keeping it free from outside powers.
Though it does not say openly, India now views
American presence to be a stabilizing factor in
the Indian Ocean region.
As regards Pakistan, the country is no match
to India’s naval capabilities and fleet of war-
ships. Its strategy is essentially based on the
concept of “Sea Denial” to Indian power. The
strategy is not seeking surface action but to
pose a threat to Indian assets through missiles
and bombs from submarines and aircraft. The
real threats or challenges that Indian Navy
faces are mainly from China and its “contain
India strategy”. China is not prepared to accept
the naming of the ocean after India. And com-
pared to India’s “Fleet-strength”, China has
more frigates, strategic submarines and
destroyers.
India’s surface navy currently consists pri-
marily of a single vintage aircraft carrier, eight
destroyers, 11 frigates, five tank landing ships
(LSTs), and assorted corvettes and patrol craft.
The strength is going to be augmented. As far
as aircraft carriers go, apart from the old Viraat
that may last another five years, Vikramaditya
(Admiral Gorshkov) from Russia is expected to
come by 2014 and there will be two such ships
if the new Vikrant (under construction at
Cochin Shipyard, and due to be launched in
the first quarter of 2011) is delivered by 2015.
The picture regarding destroyers/frigates —
the major ocean-capable ships — is not that
assuring, say experts. There are 14 today and
nine more in the pipeline, three being acquired
from Russia and six under different stages of
construction at Mazagon Docks (MDL) in
Mumbai. From this should be deleted all ships
built earlier than 1990, which would either be
scrapped or become irrelevant for the work
required to be done; there are 10 of these, so
the effective remaining numbers of such ships
will be a mere 13.

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DELIVERY
It is said that six more frigates, three
each at MDL and Garden Reach Shipyard
(GRSE), are being built. But then, the
record of indigenous production is not
assuring enough that they would be deliv-
ered in time within next 10 years, particu-
larly when there has been no selection of a
suitable foreign shipyard as collaborator. If
that is the case, then as Admiral Premvir
Das projects, the Navy will have some-
where between 14 and 15
destroyers/frigates by 2020, just where it
stands today.
As regards the diesel submarines, the
picture is also not that comfortable. Admi-
ral Das says that by 2020, all boats built
before 1990 would be gone, leaving us with
just four. Six Scorpene submarines are on
order, two through import and the other
four to be built at MDL. In other words, the
force level of diesel submarines will be no
more than 10, much fewer than the num-
bers operational today. As for nuclear sub-
marines, Arihant, launched early this year,
should be operational by 2014 or so.
In short, unless some adequate steps are
taken on a priority basis, after 10 years, the
warships of the Indian Navy may well be
short of tits present levels and will be quite
behind the strength of its Chinese counter-
part. Besides, what naval planners dread
most is the onset of obsolescence of weapon
systems as soon as the ship is launched. It is
because a war-ship takes about eight years
to be built and within that period the
weapon-systems, often imported, become
old. Thus when the ship completes just half
her life, the on-board systems are already
over 25 years old, rapidly losing efficacy
against contemporary threats. As Admiral
Arun Prakash says, while we may indige-
nously build ships, the hard reality is that it
is only 85 per-cent in content of an
operational warship, “the remaining 15 per
www.geopolitics.in
Page 45
cent consists of weapons, sensors and com-
bat management systems, which define the
fighting potential of the ship. These systems
not only constitute the most expensive com-
ponent of a warship, but are also most sus-
ceptible to obsolescence and have so far
remained beyond the capability of DRDO as
well as the defence PSUs to design
or produce”.
It is against this background that
defence Minister AK Antony’s recent indi-
cation that “the Indian Navy will no
longer rely on imports when it comes to
warships as all future procurements will
be made in India” assumes significance.
The Minister has also announced that pri-
vate shipbuilders in the country will be
given a level playing field and will have to
compete with public sector shipyards for
defence contracts. Come January and
India will come up with a new procure-
ment policy that will contain ‘drastic steps’
to speed up the goal of decreasing
dependence of imports for defence plat-
forms. So says the minister.
As of now, the MoD owns and controls
four defence shipyards: Mazagon Dock
Ltd, Mumbai (MDL); Garden Reach Ship-
builders and Engineers, Kolkata (GRSE);
Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL); and the recently
(and misguidedly) acquired Hindustan
Shipyard Ltd, Visakhapatnam (HSL). Then
there is Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), a cen-
tral PSU, which is building an aircraft car-
rier for the MoD since none of the MoD
shipyards has facilities large enough for
this. Talking of the private sector, there
is the recent emergence of private sector
shipyards — L&T, Pipavav and
ABG Shipyards — with claims of global-
quality facilities.
Time will say whether they will deliver
products in time.
— Prakash Nanda
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COVERSTORY
revamping in terms of organisation, infra-
structure and ship-building technologies.
Integration of the Ministry of Defence,
improved understanding on preparing staff
requirements, collegiate decision-making
processes and establishing facile informa-
tion communication technologies are the
progressive steps that need implementation.
FORCE PLANNING
Military force planning is both a science and
an art. It requires education, expertise,
experience, and exposure to mature process-
es elsewhere. Force planning also requires
policy directives
India is unique. Our military spending is
nearly 2.8 per cent of our GDP amounting to
nearly 25 odd billion $. Yet we have no stated
security policy or a broad military road-map
highlighting our “interests and threats”. The
Indian Navy shares about 14 per cent of this
budget. Roughly 55 per cent of this is
towards costs of running a daily Navy. The
remainder goes towards capital acquisitions.
Any discussions of Navy force levels have to
be preceded by a brief on the roles of the
Navy well documented in the Indian Mar-
itime doctrine 2009. The roles of the Indian
navy are: military, diplomatic, constabulary
and benign.
The adequacy and inadequacy of our
naval force levels appear in newspapers and
articles. Historical and cultural reasoning has
been given by scholars and senior officers.
The Indian polity seeks balance between
progress and security. Hence naval force
planning needs are prioritised on the same
scale with available funds. Past experience,
future trends, technology absorption abili-
ties, indigenisation probabilities and increas-
ing maintenance and manufacturing self-
dependencies all have to be factored. The
breakup of the Soviet Union has its own
adverse effects. At the same time, our eco-
nomic progress, democratic stability, mature
military restraint have opened western doors
in a more vigorous manner. Along with this is
the Government of India’s “Make Policy” with
the intent of becoming truly indigenous
within the next decade, which has been
adopted by the Ministry of Defence and Ser-
vice Headquarters. This transition and its
change will have its own advantages, adjust-
ments and shortfalls. Operationalising these
would take time and getting used to.
NAVY FORCE LEVELS
A Navy is capital intensive with long build
periods. Published sources reveal that
long-term integrated perspective planning
caters for a well-balanced navy within the
spread of monies available. In this the Navy
December 2010
COVERSTORY December.qxd 12/1/2010 4:35 PM
HAVING EMBARKED on this brave venture
over four decades ago, India has attained con-
siderable experience and expertise in the
arcane art of warship building. However, this
field has been monopolized exclusively by pub-
lic sector shipyards, in which the Government
of India has failed to make timely investment,
leaving them with archaic infrastructure, and a
matching work ethic as well as technical and
financial practices.
The sluggish throughput of our shipyards,
resulting in perpetual delays and cost overruns
has cast a dampener on the IN’s capability
building plans, and there is need to ensure that
they induct modern equipment, adopt contem-
porary processes including modular construc-
tion techniques, and improve cost competitive-
ness. The areas of weapon and sensor integra-
tion, procedures for acceptance of ships, and
life-cycle support of systems also require focus.
CURRENT ACTIVE FLEET STRENGTH (AS ON JULY, 2010)
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
SUBMARINES
DESTROYERS
FRIGATES
CORVETTES
AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE VESSELS
MINESWEEPERS - OCEAN
Source: www.bharat-rakshak.com
would have a combination of ships and
aircraft. A quote by the former Chief of Naval
Staff as part of vision 2022 is relevant here.
Stating that India’s expanding maritime
responsibilities and interests would necessi-
tate enhancement in force levels too, Admiral
Suresh Mehta said the Navy was looking at
becoming a 160-plus ship force by 2022. “By
2022, we plan to have 160-plus ship Navy,
including three aircraft carriers, 60 major com-
batants, including submarines and close to
400 aircraft of different types. This will be a for-
midable three dimensional force with satellite
surveillance and networking to provide force
multiplication,” Admiral Suresh Mehta said.
The probability of the Indian Navy
www.geopolitics.in
Page 46
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COVERSTORY
Indian shipyards need to ensure congru- Former
ence between their developmental plans and Navy Chief,
the Navy’s future operational needs. For Admiral Arun
example, they must urgently obtain skills and Prakash
technology required for building of amphibi-
ous assault ships, mine counter-measure ves-
sels (MCMVs) and use of STANFLEX (Stan-
dard Flex is a modular mission payload sys-
tem) concept in multi-roling of ships, as well
as the introduction of electric propulsion
onboard.
The navy’s most ambitious shipbuilding
project — the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier or
IAC — has had to be entrusted to a MoST
shipyard, and appears to be currently in dol-
drums for various reasons. In all their endeav-
ours, our warship builders would benefit
greatly from association with private industry,
and selective collaboration with
foreign shipyards.
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (1 building, 1 more approved), Kiev Class(1 [in refit]), Centaur Class (1)
Pr.971 Nerpa (NATO Akula) - due for hand over in Q4, 2010, Arihant Class (1+2 bldg), Kilo Class (10
total of which two are in MLU), HDW Class (4 of which 1 in MLU), Foxtrot Class (1) - to be decommis-
sioned in 2010
Project 15B (4 approved), Project 15A Kolkata Class (3 building), Project 15 Delhi Class (3), Rajput
(SNF) Class (5)
Project 17A Class (7 approved), Project 17 Shivalik Class (1, I on trials, 1 fitting out), Modified Krivak III
Class (3 building), Talwar {Krivak III} Class (3), Project 16A Brahmaputra Class (3), Project 16 Godavari
Class (2 active, 1 in MLU), Nilgiri {Leander} Class (3)
Project 28 Class (4 building), Project 25A Kora Class (4), Project 25 Khukri Class (4), Project 1241RE
Veer {Tarantul I} Class (11), Projeact 1241PE Abhay {Pauk II} Class (4)
Austin-Jalashwa Class LPD: 1 in service, Shardul Class LSTL: 3 in service, Magar Class LSTL: 2 in service,
Mk.2/3 Landing Craft Utility: 8 in service, Polnochny C/D Class LSM: 4 in service, new LCU: 8 approved,
New LPD: 4 planned
Pondicherry Class (Natya/SNM): 6 in service, New MCMV : 2+ 6 approved
becoming a reckonable Navy by 2022 is cer-
tainly high. However, the chances of becom-
ing operationally sensor, weapon system, ord-
nance capable in the complete dimensions of
warfare would take a much longer time. It
would also call for revamping of DPSUs,
dynamic tie-ups with advanced military enti-
ties and a will to achieve self-reliance. The
small but potent aspects of “Single Shot Kill
Probability” for damage/destruction of enemy
platforms, “Circular Error of Probability” for
weapon drop accuracy all would take years to
comprehend, experiment and master.
CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF ADMIRAL
NIRMAL VERMA: A lot to do... (The author is former Vice-Chief
of the Indian Navy)
December 2010
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Interview.qxd 12/1/2010 4:51 PM Page 60

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GEOPOLITICS
INTERVIEW

“THE IMA WILL NEVER

COMPROMISE ON THE
QUALITY OF INTAKE”

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INTERVIEW
O
NE OF the most
renowned institutions
located on the Chakrata
Road of DehraDun on
the DehraDun-Chandi-
garh highway is the Indian Military
Academy (IMA), which has had a
chequered past. Following the
vociferous demand of the Indian
nationalists for training and granti-
ng commission to Indians within
the country, and following the
report of the committee headed by
the Commander-in-Chief Lord
Chetwode. It was announced in the
Central Assembly in March 1932 to
set up the Academy. The locale of
three places — Satara (Maharas-
tra), Mhow (Madhya Pradesh) and
DehraDun (then Uttar Pradesh)
were suggested but the government
zeroed in on DehraDun primarily
because of the availability of emi-
nently suitable buildings to house
the new academy as the Railway
Staff College which had been
opened at DehraDun in 1930 had
been closed down due to the eco-
nomic crisis caused by the Great
Depression.
Brigadier LP Collins, DSO,OBE
was appointed the first Comman-
dant of the Academy in January
1932, and Colonel A.J. Bird, DSO
was made the Assistant Comman-
dant two months later along with a
battery of well-qualified officers.
The entrance examination was
held in July 1932, and the first batch
of 40 cadets commenced their train-
ing on 0ct 1, 1932. Smith Dunn of
Burma, Sam Manekshaw of India,
and Mohammad Musa of Pakistan
of this batch known as the “Pio-
neers” rose to become the heads of
the armies of their respective coun-
tries. Sam Manekshaw, the hero of
the Bangladesh war of 1971, became
India’s first Field Marshal.
Presently the Academy’s strength
is around 1800. Gentleman Cadets
of about 600 get commissioned at
the Passing Out Parade every six
months. The IMA’s present head ,
better known as Commandant, is Lt
Gen RS Sujlana, PVSM, AVSM, VSM,
who is a graduate of the Defence
Services Staff College, Wellington,
Army War College Mhow and
www.geopolitics.in
(47)
National Defence College, New Del-
hi. A third generation Army Officer
he has had wide and varied experi-
ence as a professional armyman and
belongs to the one of the oldest and
most famous regiments of the Indi-
an Army, The Sikh Regiment of
which he is Colonel Commandant.
He has seen action in the Indo-Pak
War of 1971, and has had a large
degree of acquaintance with count-
er-insuregency operations both in
Jammu Kashmir and the North-
East. He has been a Divisional and
Corps Commander before assuming
command of the Indian Military
Academy. Excerpts of an exclusive
interview with ARVINDAR SINGH, a
Dehradun based security analyst
Q What would you feel are the
major achievements of the
Indian Military Academy in its
over 75 years of existence?
The Indian Military Academy trains
raw young Gentlemen Cadets to be
officers of the Indian Army who
show the righteous way to their
men with personal example both in
war and peace. Since independence
the officers who have passed out of
the hallowed portals of this Acade-
my have given insurmountable
accounts of bravery and made the
ultimate sacrifice, be it in the four
wars, the war in Kargil or in the
ongoing counter terrorism/insur-
gency operations in J&K and North
East. Since inception the sole aim
of the academy has been to turn
boys to men who are so baptized in
the fire of combat that never can
any situation prevent them from
achieving honour and glory. Nation
before self — always and every
time, I believe has been the singu-
lar and important achievement of
the IMA. It is this ethos that has
been imbibed in the heart and soul
of every officer who have always
made our country proud in the bat-
tlefield or otherwise. The IMA War
Memorial bears testimony to the
outstanding bravery of 813 brave
hearts who have given the ultimate
sacrifice for the country.
It has been reported in the press
on various occasions that the
December 2010
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g
INTERVIEW

Indian Army is facing a deficiency of officers joining its The sacrifices made by soldiers towards the cause of
ranks. Is this assessment correct? If so, what steps are the Nation against external and internal threats is
being taken to remedy it? recounted and commemorated at memorial services
With ever-increasing and growing job avenues in the organised at the Academy. The War Memorial at the
corporate world due to globalisation, there has Academy epitomises the valour of the martyrs and
certainly been a certain divergence of talent from the is a major source of motivation for Gentlemen
Armed Forces as such. However, this will never be an Cadets who will embark upon defending the
excuse for us to dilute our intake standards. As such, borders of our country on passing out from IMA.
no compromise on the quality of intake — this has
been the important and irrevocable term of refer- The Indian Army is increasingly involved in
ence for the services selection boards. Yes internal security duties nowadays. Has the
there is indeed a shortage of officers, but IMA introduced some specialised training
the challenge is being met with avail- in this regard?
able officers doing double/ triple Yes certainly, training is dynamic
hatting. However with enhanced and futuristic. It is all encom-
promotional and monitory benefits, passing to ensure that, it caters
career in the Armed forces has for varied threat manifestations
rekindled the charm of soldering for which the training curricu-
among the youth. While the Armed lum is regularly updated. The
Forces are doing their bit, this training at the IMA is multidi-
issue has to be addressed at the mensional and caters to the
highest level in the nation so that entire spectrum of conflict
the challenge is met squarely. which an Indian Army Officer is
likely to face at any stage in his
What would you spell out as service life. The young officers
the ethos of the Indian Military on passing out from this Acade-
Academy? my are capable of facing all types
The ethos never needs to be spelt out of challenges.
as it is imprinted in the heart and mind of
one and all who has passed out through the What are the new aspects of training
august portals of this great institution. The being introduced in the Academy, given
IMA credo imbibed in each individual the tendency of push-button warfare
speaks for itself. nowadays?
Revolution in military affairs is a
The safety, honour and welfare of your constant ongoing process. The
country come graduation from platform centric-war-
First always and every time. fare to network centric warfare is
The honour, welfare and comfort underway in the Indian Army. Presently, it is at
of the men you a semi optimised stage of incorporation into
Command come next. our way of life in the defence forces and the
Your own ease, comfort and safety come same has obviously been catered for in the
Last always and every time. training schedule here at the IMA to enhance
the technological threshold of the Gentleman
Besides the credo the Code of Warrior Cadets. Also due impetus towards combat
and honour Code have been enunciated shooting skills has been given and Gentlemen
which embodies the Karma of a soldier and Cadets are put through battle drills employing
his responsibilities towards the Nation. simulators and modern equipment to improve
their reflex shooting. Adequate changes in the
“I am a warrior, defending my nation training programme have been made, so as to
is my dharma provide them the required technical and
I will excel in all devices and weapons of war electronic know-how, so as to provide the basic
present and future. platform from where they can progress further
I will always protect the weak. as and when they join their particular arms or
I will be truthful and forthright. service.
I will be humane, cultured
and compassionate. Could you shed some light on the strength of
I will fight and embrace the Indian Military Academy?
the consequences, willingly. Presently the IMA has adequate training and
“God give me strength that administration capacity to accommodate
i ask nothing of you” 2000 Gentlemen Cadets.

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geopolitics
INTERNAL SECURITY

CHALLENGES OF
MODERNISATION

GENDER WATCH
Even after getting entry into the paramilitary forces,
women continue to face many prejudices
briefs.qxd 12/1/2010 5:07 PM Page 4
IS
INTERNAL SECURITY B R I E F S
CISF to
guard
Jamnagar
refinery
AN ELITE commando contin-
gent of Central Industrial
Security Force (CISF) is now
manning one of the world’s
largest refinery complexes
owned by Mukesh Ambani-led
Reliance Industries Ltd. In view
of the security threats to vital
installations of national impor-
tance, the Centre had amended
the CISF Act to provide security
cover to leading private estab-
lishments, regardless of their
private domain.
RIL’s refinery complex situat-
ed in Jamnagar is a vital asset of
national economic importance.
It is believed to have been
one of the prime targets of
terror strikes.
CISF, through its 217 elite
combat commando contingent,
has pledged to protect the
refinery complex.
www.geopolitics.in
g
Paramilitary troops debate
security and human rights
THE BORDER Security Force knows how to make
its points in these turbulent times when there
are mounting demands for scrapping the Armed
Forces Special Powers Act in the country. It
bagged the first award in the annual debate
organised by the National Human Rights Com-
mission (NHRC) and conducted by Indo-Tibetan
Border Police (ITBP) on November 17 at the
national capital. The dabate was on whether
human rights and security-related duties could
go hand-in-hand. The debate is conducted since
1996 to promote human rights awareness
amongst security personnel.
A total of 64 police officers from Assam Rifles,
BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP, NSG, RPF and SSB partici-
pated in the competition, which was titled
“Human Rights can be observed by security
forces without compromising national security
concerns”. While 32 officers spoke against the
topic, 32 others spoke for the topic. Some speak-
ing for the topic said human rights are not an
obstacle. They are a guiding tool. By following
them forces can win the hearts and mind of the
common population. They can win their confi-
dence and loyalties, through which, they can get
intelligence and support base among the local
Centre to check anti-Maoist fund
THE HOME Ministry has planned audits to find
out whether state governments have properly
used funds given to them for combating
Maoists.
A request for proposal (RFP) for a compre-
hensive study of fund use has recently been
floated by Ministry of Home Affairs. The organisa-
tion that gets selected to do this work would have
to get ground-level feedback about the utilisation
of central funds.
Under the central reimbursement scheme,
(50)
population. The others who spoke against the
topic said security personnel who get killed by
terrorists and militants also have human rights
and they should be protected.
NHRC Chairman K G Balakrishnan gave away
the awards while paramilitary chiefs of forces
like ITBP, NSG and CISF were present during
the event.
Maoist-affected states are paid for the costs
incurred on anti-Maoist operations. This includes
money spent for paying compensation to civil-
ians, setting-up of village defence committees,
rehabilitation of hardcore, underground Maoist
cadres, propaganda and logistics for fighting
Maoists forces.
The study will check the speed of fund use,
the security environment created by the states
for optimum utilisation, and the effect the anti-
Maoist scheme has had on the morale of security
forces.The central scheme has been run-
ning for the past eight years in the
Maoist-affected states of Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharash-
tra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarak-
hand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
A total of 81 districts across nine
states are covered under this scheme.
Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have 15 dis-
tricts each for which the Centredispenses
money. Three districtsfrom Maharashtra
— Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Gondia
— alsoget cover. As per the RFP, “All
districts in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh and West Bengal will be
reviewed, whereas in the remaining
states the study would be required to
review just 50 per cent of districts.”
December 2010
briefs.qxd 12/1/2010 5:07 PM Page 5
Marrying technology to tackle crime!
UNION HOME Minister P Chidambaram has
stressed the need for capacity building by providing
adequate police personnel to man the police sta-
tions in the country and promised adequate funds
with matching technology to tackle crime rates in
the country.
By March this year, there were 400,000 vacancies
in all police stations in the country. It is not as if
India cannot find 400,000 personnel. But the Home
Minister is of the view that the problem is due to the
fact that in many states, finance ministers are loathe
to allocate funds to police.
‘Unless we marry technology and police, the
COASTAL SECURITY UP AFTER 26/11:
HOME MINISTER P Chidambaram has said
coastal security has been strengthened in the
country after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Chidambaram said the government has
identified all the gaps and will plug these in a
phased manner through the coastal security
scheme.
The scheme aims to provide assistance to
nine coastal states — Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal — and four
coastal union territories of Daman and Diu,
Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
The first phase of the scheme, operational
since 2005, will end March next year.
“Phase-II which will be launched thereafter
will considerably strengthen infrastructure in
terms of boats, police stations, jetties, vehi-
cles, equipment and trained personnel,” the
Home Minister added.
The scheme also provides for setting up 73
police personnel will remain far behind law
breakers', he said recently while inaugurating the
three day International conference on 'Global
Community Policing Conclave' being attended by
police personnel from 42 countries. There is so
much intelligence information pouring in and
there is need to analyse the same to keep pace with
time, he said adding, unfortunately this area
is neglected.
NATGRID on anvil
A MOVE is on to set up a NATGRID (National Intel-
ligence Grid) to ensure better exchange of infor-
mation between security agencies across the
country. It has been necessitated due to the
realization by the Union Home Ministry that the
lack of inter-state coordination and information-
sharing between police officers is one of the
important reasons why terror-related investiga-
tions in India are often botched up.
There have been instances where individuals
www.geopolitics.in
g B R I E F S IS
However, he cautioned that in the name of
innovation, the concept of community policing
should not be trivialised, as there are good as well
as bad examples of community policing. Giving
examples he said the 'Salwa Judum' movement in
Chhattisgarh where young men of the community
were given arms to counter serious internal threats
and in West Bengal where political party cadres
had been armed to counter the threat of Maoists
are two bad examples of community policing.
Police cannot abdicate their responsibility for pri-
vate militia, he said.
The 'Janamaitriyi Suraksha Project (JSEP) in Ker-
coastal police stations, 97 checkposts, 58 out-
posts and 30 operational barracks.
So far, 71 coastal police stations have been
operationlised and construction of 75 check-
posts, 54 outposts and 22 barracks completed,
while 158 boats were delivered to coastal
states up to the end of last month, he added.
ala and Delhi's 'Eyes and Ears' are good examples of
community policing, which had helped in crushing
crime rates, he said.
Stressing the need for “authentic” community
policing, he said that it could be possible if it is an
exercise in trust which, in turn, can be built only
among partners who are equal. It is important for
community policing to address the requirements of
neighbourhood and beyond the neighbourhood.
have been picked up in one particular state and it
has taken almost a month before the police force
in that state has obtained information about the
detainee from his home state, resulting in investi-
gation delays.
Natgrid, which is proposed to be launched next
May, will ensure that police officers feed informa-
tion about individuals into a database. Officers from
other states can log in and access this information. It
will compile information about every
citizen in the country, not criminals alone. It will
have information about the citizen's bank accounts,
her/his fingerprints, property s/he owns etc.
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INTERNAL SECURITY
BlackBerry
nears a deal
on data
THE GOVERNMENT and the
makers of BlackBerry phones,
Research In Motion Ltd (RIM),
seem to have moved closer to an
agreement on lawful access and
monitoring of the highly encrypt-
ed BlackBerry Enterprise Service
(BES) that allows the exchange of
secure corporate emails among
BlackBerry phone users.
It is believed that BlackBerry
has in principle agreed to
provide the security authorities
recorded data from its servers.
A series of meetings has taken
place over the last one month
between executives of Canada-
based RIM and officials of the
Home Ministry, Intelligence
Bureau and the National
Technical Research Organisation
(NTRO).
The government has fixed
December 31 as the deadline by
which the company has to agree
on sharing its data. The govern-
ment has been demanding
access to BES and other encrypt-
ed BlackBerry message services,
as it fears, they could be used to
plan terrorist attacks.
RIM has already given in to
the demand for access to the
BlackBerry Messenger Service.
Home Ministry officials say they
have been provided manual
access to the service, and RIM
has assured a final solution for
lawful interception of the mes-
senger service by January 31.
The company offered a tech-
nical solution to BES after the
government set a August 31
deadline. The deadline was later
extended, but meetings between
government officials and RIM
executives could not take place.
Officials were busy, initially due
to the October 3-14 Common-
wealth Games in Delhi and then
in preparation for the November
6-9 visit of US President Barack
Obama.
RIM has been saying it does
not have the ability to change the
BES server’s security architec-
ture, which is the same globally.
BlackBerry has more than
a million subscribers in India,
which is its fastest — growing
market in terms of subscriber
additions.
December 2010
Modernising Paramilitary forces.qxd 12/1/2010
INTERNALSECURITY
HALF-HEARTED EFFORT
Modernisation of central
paramilitary forces
(CPF) has been going on
for now almost a decade.
The positive changes are
clearly visible but the
complete makeover is a
distant dream. The gap
between requirement
and availability of
resources is still wide.
The challenges are more
sophisticated and
diverse, which call for
acceleration in
modernisation of forces
in all aspects.
A special report
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5:09 PM Page 40
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GEOPOLITICS
BEST AMONG EQUALS: NSG security force needs greater push in modernisation to
tackle growing terrorism
M
ARCH THIS year the police
modernisation plan came to
an end after eight years
without achieving its full
objective. What began with
sanctioning of 3740 crore in 2002 for period of
five years was extended for another five
years (see box)
The first duty of the government is to pro-
vide security to its people, without which no
development is possible. The centre has been
forced to substantially increase the strength of
its paramilitary forces, because the state
forces could not be augmented and mod-
ernised to the desired level. In my estimate,
states would have to recruit over 400,000 con-
stables this year and in the next two years in
order to fill the vacancies and in order to pro-
vide for expansion of the police forces. “The
massive expansion of central paramilitary
forces is indicative of inadequacies of state
police. The police-population ratio in the
country is much lower than the desired level
(52)
of 220 and there is also wide variation among
the states. This is not a good sign for the feder-
al structure,” said Home Minister
P Chidambaram during a meeting of the con-
sultative committee attached to the
Home Ministry.
Any force, to keep up with the threats per-
ceived and existent, must modernise with
time. The current threats that our CPFs face
vary from Naxal in the jungles of central India
to terrorism in metropolitan cities. To achieve
overall superiority against these threats, aug-
mentation of the capability was envisaged in
the modernisation plan. In this plan money
was sanctioned for the upgradation in
weaponry, machinery, equipment, transport,
communication, surveillance, training, cloth-
ing and shelter.
The fighting capability of any force
doesn’t only depends upon the weapons they
have but requires mentally and physically
better-trained police, which has quick and
safe modes of transport and accurate situa-
December 2010
Modernising Paramilitary forces.qxd 12/1/2010
EXUDING PHYSICAL STRENGTH: ITBP personnel showing their martial arts skill
tional awareness to make accurate plan. The
increased efficiency reduces the mortality of
men and time taken in the operation. But
what is worth mentioning is that since 2002
when the modernisation plan was sanctioned
the threat has increased and manifested in
newer, deadlier and technically more sophisti-
cated forms but the plan which was suppose
to be completed in 2005 has not achieved
its objective even before expiring in March
this year.
Reasons for the lapse of funds are many.
The cost of this incompletion in terms of loss
of human life both civilian and security
personal is worth researching. Similarly the
economic impact of this incompletion is
worth an effort. The overall utilisation of these
funds by CPFs varies, which suggests that
some organisations are more efficient than the
other. This efficiency could be in terms of
quick assessment of the requirement and
timely procurement of the required assets.
With just 1.95 per cent of unspent fund
Indo-Tibet Border Police tops the chart
followed by CISF with 4.93. CRPF and Assam
Rifle, the two main counter-insurgency force
of India has 13.7 and 22.84 per cent of
unutilised fund respectively. BSF, SSB and NSG
have 33.62, 36.04 and 42.47 respectively of
unutilised fund. Post-26/11 the under
utilisation for NSG, the premier counter-
insurgency force of India is the most
disturbing. “One of the reasons for this is the
inability of the forces to think at a macro level,
ahead, five to ten years. They are focussed sim-
ply on the present,” said a senior official in the
www.geopolitics.in
5:09 PM Page 41
g
INTERNALSECURITY
MADHYA PRADESH, Uttar Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Orrisa, Assam, Megha-
laya have topped the chart of shortage
of police officers in the country. Accord-
ing to statistics released by the Ministry
of Home Affairs, there is a shortage of
630 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers
in India now. Currently, India has 3,383
IPS officers against the authorised
strength of 4,013.
Whereas there is a shortage of 76
such officers in Madhya Pradesh, the
figure is 60 in Orissa. In Uttar
Pradesh, out of an authorised strength
of 404 IPS officers, there are currently
346 officers in the state, making a
shortage of 58. The combined Assam-
Meghalaya cadre has a shortage of 48
officers, whereas in Andhra Pradesh,
41 IPS can be accommodated accord-
ing to authorised strength. At present,
122 IPS officers of 2009 batch are
undertaking training at NPA.
In order to increase the number of
IPS officers, recommendations of Kamal
Kumar Committee have been taken seri-
ously. The strength and composition of
the state cadres have already been
reviewed and the total cadre strength
was raised to 4730. The annual batch
size of regular recruits has been
increased to 150 from 130 earlier, from
2009 onwards, according to Minister of
State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken in a
written reply to a question in the Lok
Sabha recently.
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Home Ministry who declined to be named.
There are two major administrative and
procedural flaws in the system, which
contribute to unspent and misuse of funds —
the procurement process and non-exclusivity
of fund.
It has been found that forces have used
funds from general budget and modernisation
budget to purchase same equipments. The
decision regarding this has been taken by the
finance dept of the forces. For example Assam
Rifle has bought genset both from regular and
modernisation budget. Similarly radio sets,
JCB Tipper and bullet-proof jackets were
bought from both funds. In the same way CISF
has also bought Carbine and Insas Rifles. No
one knows how this discretion is made on
what to be brought from where and how
much. In fact the modernisation budget
should not include goods which are available
through regular budget.
The process of acquisition is marred with
bureaucratic hurdles. The process is cumber-
some and time consuming to an extent where
the whole purpose gets defeated. Any pur-
chase which is beyond DGs competence has
to be approved by the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) and this becomes a time-
consuming process. Before giving any
approval MHA asks for numerous clarifica-
tions and justifications for the said purchase at
every level and this is a time-taking
procedure. On top of this, there are quality
requirement issues. For any purchase a QR is
made, which doesn’t have a set time frame,
thus if the product has not been selected, and
if new improved version appears in the market
the quarter is revised. This has become an
annual affair. There should be a time frame for
every QR.
The bureaucratic control over the forces,
on the matter of purchase, has been the main
culprit. The MHA is authorised to approve the
item to be purchased at the time of launch of
the scheme, now many of those items have
become upgraded. To get these next genera-
tion items approval is required from MHA. The
idea of ‘pre-defined’ item for purchase has to
be done away with as this causes delays and
products become obsolete by the time they
are purchased. But in the meantime the adver-
saries do not waste time and acquire the latest.
Thus the gap remains between desired and
existing capabilities.
Procurement of the latest weapons is not
modernisation. Any force which is not ahead
of its adversary will never be able to ensure law
and order and security. The overall infrastruc-
ture and human resource is needed to be
upgraded. A level of dynamism has to be
achieved where forces are capable of planning
as per their assessment of the future threats.
December 2010
Modernising Paramilitary forces.qxd 12/1/2010 5:09 PM Page 42

g
INTERNALSECURITY
THE GOVERNMENT has approved a five-year plan (2002-07) for mod- three-year plan (2005-08) for modernisation of Sashatra Seema Bal
ernisation of six central para military forces Assam Rifle (AR), Central (SSB) at an estimated cost of `444.43 crore in April, 2005. The
Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), government also approved the extension of both the above plans
Border Security Forces (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and up to 31.03.2011.
National Security Guard (NSG) at an estimated const of ` 3740.71 The force-wise funds utilised during each of the last three years
crore in February 2002. Separately, the government also approved a and the current year force-wise are given below:-

Name of 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

the Force (Up to August 2010)

Assam Rifle 10.65 34.15 43.60 83.0

BSF 176.50 53.84 148.31 57.5
CISF 2.83 0.90 0.41 0.0
CRPF 5.08 0.00 25.50 6.9
ITBP 0.28 5.64 12.21 2.0
NSG 14.72 3.33 9.99 0.2
SSB 55.60 21.94 33.38 1.2
Total 265.66 119.80 273.40 150.8
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri Mullappally Ramachandran in a written reply
to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The process should be a constant and ongoing forces must try to buy generic equipment
process based on threat perceptions emerg- which can be used by all the forces. For
ing, existing and expected, but this doesn’t example, if assault rifles are to be bought
seems to be happening. Every paramilitary what is the point to buy different ones by dif-
force must have a dedicated well-trained ferent forces. Any one assault rifle can be
group to do this work. selected after due trials and should be pro-
It has also been found that there is cured for everyone. This would be economi-
dearth of qualified technical staff in the CPF,s
cal as well as easy to maintain the inventory.
which can be used for the evaluation and In one assessment of modernisation in
procurement of modern equipments. The CPFs, recommendations have been made to
different forces operate in very close areas improve the current procedure. The report
and also have similar requirements. The has found the modernisation scheme very
useful and should be continued. It has
accepted that the failure in exploiting the
sanctioned fund is a proof that there is need
for altering the way in which scheme is
built. Extension of scheme by five years has
not helped in full utilisation of sanctioned
fund which to proves some thing is serious-
ly wrong.
More flexibility has been advised for the
scheme. Cabinet approval only for total
amount for each force with its details, but
List of items shouldn’t be part of the
approval. The allocation of funds to forces
under the operational heads must be
KEEPING THE STRICT VIGIL: The
retained by MHA. The forces can send the
paramilitary force jawan removing a stranger
to facilitate the voters waiting outside a likely requirement which can be sent to cabi-
polling booth net for approval instead of entire list of items.
Recommendation for a high power com-
mittee to allocate funds for two years at the
beginning of the financial years has been
made. The committee should comprise of
Home secretary, DG of CPFs, Joint Secretary
(Police Modernisation, DG Bureau of Police
Research and development, Financial Advi
sor ( Home) Joint Secretary( PF-1). Separate
provision is required for acquisition from
abroad. A permanent committee of DGs of
CPF,s and BPR&D has been suggested which
will act as technical consultant for latest
technical gadgets available in the market.
The recommendation sounds very
strong on surface but there are couple of
points that must be asked. Firstly, if the
MHA allots the fund for the operational
heads after the approval from the cabinet,
then the same process of justification and
clarification will go on as the forces will have
to give reasons for the items purchased
under the operational head. Secondly, the
technical advisory committee of DGs doesn’t
sound good as the technical competence of
the respective CPFs is still available to
forces. The DGs do not have the technical
know-how of the latest weaponry and other
system which they have neither used nor
have any training in this regard. Young offi-
cers should be trained for this purpose with
DRDO and armed forces.

www.geopolitics.in December 2010

(54)
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Paramillitary forces.qxd 12/1/2010 5:30 PM
GETTING WOMEN ON BOARD
Are women good for tougher paramilitary and military duties? India has taken several steps
forward in this complex process in spite of the unresolved issues that concern women
in the forces. S BANERJEE analyses
I
NDIAN SOCIETY is undergoing fun-
damental changes in which the
women are coming out more and
more in the social arena and finding
their place in the society shoulder to
shoulder with the men. There is not only a
growing awareness about their rights but
they are also eager to participate equally
with the men in the ever-changing social
scenario and are participating with them in
all types of social activities including
demonstrations and even in riots. These
types of activities sometimes lead to vio-
lence which calls for a new system of polic-
ing to be put in place. One of the most
ON THE FLIP SIDE: An ITBP woman constable keeping watch during Commonwealth
Games, 2010
www.geopolitics.in
Page 60
g
GEOPOLITICS
INTERNALSECURITY
important components in this context,
amongst others, would be the need to have
more police women to deal with the
women demonstrators; otherwise if men
were to deal with this work then this would
lead to widespread allegations which would
have very undesirable e men in the police
forces and particularly in the paramilitary
organisations which are involved in anti-
terrorist operations which also include cor-
don and search operations in the civilian
areas.
While recruiting women the police
forces have to take care of certain basic
issues:
(56)
„ It has to be recognised that the women
have a different physiological and psy-
chological makeup, which is biological-
ly determined and is basically different
from that of the men.
„ Another important issue that needs to
be addressed is the male prejudice that
the women are not capable of perform-
ing the kind of tasks that their male
counterparts can do.
A study carried out of 183 police
women in India in 1996 indicated that 50
per cent of the respondents believed that
the women were less competent than the
men in patrolling duties, surveillance, foot
patrolling, dealing with crowds and dealing
with situations when someone had a lethal
weapon and interviewing male suspects. It
also showed that the majority of the women
police believed that they were more com-
petent at clerical work, writing reports,
interviewing female suspects, dealing with
domestic disputes and with juvenile
offenders, than with the patrolling duties.
A study by The National Center for
Women & Policing, California, US found
that the women police officers in the USA
utilised style of patrolling that relied less on
physical force and more on communica-
tion skills that defused potentially violent
situations. Women police officers were
much more likely to effectively respond to
police calls regarding violence against
women. Although it is true that the women
cannot undertake the kind of arduous and
hazardous duties that the men can do, it is
a fact that they are better in communica-
tion skills, use less force during agitations
and generally have a more sobering effect
in the force.
In balance, the women are no less in
December 2010
Paramillitary forces.qxd 12/1/2010 5:30 PM Page 61

g
INTERNALSECURITY

performing the tasks than the men. The fact

that their representation in the police
forces is less than 20 per cent in the world
clearly indicates that the women are highly
under-represented in the forces. In the civil
police the women are more effective in
dealing with juvenile delinquencies, vic-
tims of rape, child protection and in deal-
ing with women prisoners and suspects. In
this area, the men are far less effective than
the women. This clearly indicates the need
for better women’s participation in the
forces and thus the need for more recruit-
ment of the women personnel into the
police.
A study was conducted into the prob-
lems of, ‘Induction of women in the Central
Police Forces - Their Impact on the Forces,
and the Early Retirement Scheme’, under
the aegis of the Bureau of Police Research
and Development at Delhi’s Institute of
Social Sciences. The study collected sam-
ples from amongst the personnel (412) of
various ranks of the Central Police Forces A SILVER LINING: The Ist Mahila CT/GD taking oath at passing-out parade and
(CPFs). attestation ceremony, at ITBP Basic Training Centre, Bhanu, Haryana, on January 29, 2010
Discussions were also held with the
senior officers up to the Directors General disorder resulting in anxiety, depression rude behaviour of the male instructors who
of Police so as to elicit their views on vari- and at times fear psychosis. This problem sometimes use abusive language and also
ous issues in this regard. A panel of doctors can be addressed if the authorities arrange have a lack of understanding of their physi-
comprising gynecologists, physicians and a for counseling and familiarisation courses cal problems like the monthly periods, also
psychologist was also set up to look into the at the initial stages so that the inductees add to their stress. The absence of female
medical problems faced by the women per- feel more at ease in their new surround- instructors is another factor that causes
sonnel. Eminent sociologists were also con- ings. Apart from this, the inductees also problems for the women trainees. The
sulted to understand the women’s point of face problems particularly during the out- indoor training programmes, however, do
view from the sociological angle. door trainings. A major problem arises not cause any major problems as these are
On the basis of these three parameters, because of the lack of separate toilet facili- held mainly inside clasrooms where the
the sample study, the report of the panel of ties and other amenities like changing basic amenities are available.
doctors as well as discussions with the soci- rooms, etc. An important issue that the women
ologists, revealed that the women person- The tough physical training also causes face all through their careers pertain to the
nel faced a number of problems during the problems for them. Other issues like the inter-personal issues like the attitudinal
course of their work. In order to study these

specific problems, the service cycle of the
women personnel was divided into the
periods of 0-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15 years
and 16-20 years of service, coinciding with
age groups of 18-25 years, 26-30 years, 31-
35 years and 36-40 years and above respec-
tively. After 20 years of service all govern-
ment servants are entitled to take voluntary
retirement from service.
Although women inductees are able to
undergo the same kind of training as the
men, they face certain basic problems. The
women inductees who have not undergone
group activities like the NCC, or sport
meets and join the training centres which
are far away from their homes, face, what
the psychologists term as, the ‘separation
anxiety’.
They feel great tension and adjustment
UNIFORM ISSUES
A MAJOR problem that comes about during
the pre-natal and post-natal stages is
regarding wearing the prescribed tight uni-
form. The study revealed that there are no
formal orders issued by any of the CPFs for
the women personnel to wear any other
uniform during these times. Some of the
CPFs have however issued administrative
orders locally, allowing the women person-
nel to wear salwar-kameez or sarees during
these periods. Keeping in mind these
issues, the Bureau of Police Research &
Development had conducted a study enti-
tled, 'Alternative Uniform for Officers in
Advanced Stage of Pregnancy' and had sent
its recommendations to the Ministry of
Home Affairs, in which an alternative uni-
form had been suggested for the women
personnel at these stages. The BPR&D has
recommended the wearing of khaki saree
or khaki salwar-kameez and alternatively
khaki jacket, short sleeved for summer and
long sleeved for winter, with black/brown
rubber-soled shoes as these would be more
comfortable for the pregnant women. The
recommendations of the BPR&D are worth
considering and formal orders in this
regard need to be issued by the govern-
ment so that there is uniformity about the
uniforms during these stages and it is not
left to the whims and fancies of any
commandants.

www.geopolitics.in December 2010

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Paramillitary forces.qxd 12/1/2010 5:30 PM
IN BIG NUMBERS
PARAMILITARY FORCES have been inducting
women in their ranks and training them for
combat duties. The forces train women as
commandos and deploy them along the Indo-
Pakistan border, in volatile Liberia, as guards in
Rashtrapati Bhawan and as crack personnel
guarding the Delhi Metro.
The CISF that has over 5 per cent women on
its rolls, with over 4,000 women in its ranks,
has a platoon of only woman commandos serv-
ing in the Special Security Group ( SSG), which
guards high-profile VIPs. These personnel are
specially trained in handling Glock pistols and
sophisticated MP5 submachine gun/carbine.
All CISF women serving at airports and the
Delhi Metro are fully trained in assault duties
and work shoulder to shoulder with our men.
The Central Reserve Police Force ( CRPF)
has sent an all-woman contingent to Liberia for
the third year in running on a United Nations
(UN) mission. This unit has earned accolades
from the UN for encouraging Liberian women
to join the local police there. Most women, who
have gone to Liberia, are married and have
children, who they have left behind. We made
a decision not to send any woman with a child
less than six months as we felt the child needed
her. The women on mission have made adjust-
ments with their family life just like our men on
foreign missions..
In 2009 Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram inducted women into the Bor-
der Security Force. The first batch of 178
women in Punjab, who have since been posted
on the India-Pakistan border. Buoyed by the
encouragement, the BSF decided to induct 640
more women into its ranks for border duties.
According to a BSF officer, the women have
undergone a rigorous 38-week training in
handling all modern arms, ammunition and
explosives as well as in advanced combat like
their male counterparts. The Indo-Tibetan Bor-
der Police to, will induct 218 women soon for
guarding the President and the Rashtrapati
Bhawan. “These woman commandoes can han-
dle arms such as the AK- 47 and light machine
guns and are trained to counter a terror
attack,” an ITBP officer said.
However, the government has ruled out any
women officers post for select paramilitary
forces even as a significant number of women
were recently recruited in lower ranks of some
of the border-guarding forces. The new notifi-
cation issued by the Union Public Service Com-
mission (UPSC), which recruits entry-level offi-
cers for central police forces, will make it
impossible for any women officer to head the
almost 2,000 young women personnel in the
combat ranks of three of the border-
guarding forces.
www.geopolitics.in
Page 62
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INTERNALSECURITY
The UPSC has notified that women appli-
cants for these entry-level officer posts are inel-
igible for border-guarding forces of Sashastra
Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP) and Border Security Force (BSF). “Both
males and females are eligible for CISF and
CRPF. For SSB, BSF and ITBP only male candi-
dates are eligible,” the notification for recruit-
ment of Assistant Commandants for the five
para-military forces said on May 29. Incidental-
ly, the above mentioned forces started recruit-
ing women constables for their active duties
along borders for the first time since the last
year but the all-women battalions and compa-
nies are still commanded by male officers.
The forces had recruited women constables
in their ranks with huge fanfare and Home
Minister P. Chidamabaram had commissioned
the maiden women batches for ITBP and BSF.
The government has recently notified the
Recruitment Rules for Central Police Forces
Assistant Commandants (ACs) Examination
2010, held on October 24 this year. This is the
entry-level exam for officers in these forces. Ini-
tially recruited as ACs, the officers rise to
become Deputy Commandants and
Commandants of an operational company (100
personnel) or a full battalion (1,000 personnel)
subsequently.
While the BSF, guarding Pakistan and
Bangladesh borders, has about 700 women in
its ranks, the SSB, which secures the Nepal and
Bhutan borders, has been sanctioned 763
women constables posts. The ITBP, deployed
along Sino-Indian border, recruited about 354
women. The government is also planning to
raise a full-fledged women’s battalion in these
forces so that the unit retains its individuality
and performs its distinct role, while gender-
specific requirements of the paramilitary forces
are also met.
425 women constables of the First Women
Battalion of police of north India passed out
from the Sakoh police training centre of
Dharamsala in Himachal. It is the 5th newly
raised India Reseve Battalion (IRB) which was
formally inducted into Himachal Pradesh State
Police on successful completion of their train-
ing. Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister,
took salute of an impressive parade of the new-
ly raised First Women Battalion, Speaking on
the occasion, Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, said
that the state government had got sanctioned
three additional IRBs for the state out of which
5th Battalion was the First Women Battalion of
the State which was a step directed towards
women empowerment. He said that the state
government had deployed three women con-
stables in every police station to facilitate
women complainants.
(58)
problems of their male colleagues which
include display of ego, jealousy and other
negative behavioural problems and to an
extent the absence of women-friendly office
environment, leading to mental and sexual
harassment. During the research study, the
respondents expressed the view that con-
ducting gender sensitization programmes
would be a very good way of dealing with
this basic problem. Such programmes
should include group discussions,
couselling, training on psychology, coopera-
tion, coordination as well as lectures on
morality and ethics.
An interesting point that emerged from
the study was that while a very large num-
ber of women felt that they could perform
different types of duties efficiently, almost
an equal number of men also shared this
view. In other words, if in the given circum-
stances where the men and women work
together, the men had a positive view of the
working capabilities of their female coun-
terparts.
The study also revealed that while there
were problems of women performing tough
physical jobs, as well as performing duties
on the borders and in the operational areas,
the overall positive thinking among both
men and women was that the women could
perform various types of duties in an effi-
cient way, they were honest and dedicated
in their work and that a mixed workforce
led to better efficiency. This is an encour-
aging finding because such a positive out-
look could eventually help in dealing with
the overwhelming male prejudices about
the capabilities of their female counter-
parts.
We have discussed the problems the
women personnel face during training, as
also the attitudinal problems of their male
colleagues. During the discussions with the
sociologists it was suggested that in order
to develop the women personnel to their
full potential, they may be put through
training programmes like the Springboard
Training Programme.
This training programme is targeted at
the women who are in the supervisory as
well as non-managerial positions to move
up to the managerial cadres. This training
programme includes skills and understand-
ing self, balancing home and work in man-
agerial ways, improving their image,
becoming assertive, developing better
inter-personal relations, communications
skills, managing stress and time better,
achieving the set goals, and so on.
(The author is a former DGP, ACB, Gujarat)
Courtesy - BPRD
December 2010
Diplomacny cover December6.qxd 12/1/2010 4:48 PM Page 53

geopolitics
DIPLOMACY

THE NEXT LEVEL

Consolidating the India-France partnership

RUSSIA’S RELATIONS
WITH INDIA ARE CHINESE IMAGE:
UNIQUE DRAGON OR LOONG?
India-France.qxd 12/1/2010 4:57 PM Page 54

diplomacy
g
GEOPOLITICS

ASSESSMENT

A MATURE
PARTNERSHIP
From being mere friendship, the India-France relationship has matured and blossomed in
the last ten years into one that is strategic in nature. President Sarkozy’s visit will only further
consolidate this relationship, writes CLAUDE ARPI

D
URING A The visit of the CDS was
RECENT visit in
Delhi, Admiral
Edouard Guillaud,
the French Chief
of Defence Staff (CDS), quoted
Kautilya: “An unfailing ally is
one who receives and provides
help because of old bonds,
friendship and generosity.”
At a press conference, the
CDS explained that India and
France not only “share similar
ideals of freedom, democracy
and cultural diversity”, but the
two countries have also com-
mon objectives, namely “a safer
world, a better-managed Indian
Ocean and a more stable
Afghanistan.”
Guillaud recalled that 400
Indian jawans passed Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and
President Nicolas Sarkozy
marching down the Champs
Elysées in Paris on the occasion
of the French National Day
(July 14, 2009). Was it not a sym-
bol of the closeness between
the two nations?
part of the preparation for the
State visit of President Sarkozy
to India in December. Guillaud
pointed out that France and
India “have similar aspirations
because we share the same
ideals, the same values and the
same vision of the world. That’s
why we are true partners!”
But to grasp the intricacies
of Indo-French relations, it is
necessary to have a look at
some historical issues.
THE COLONIAL FACTOR
A factor which weighed heavily
in the Indo-French relations is
the colonial era’s hangover.
While the British left the sub-
continent in August 1947, the
French remained present in
Pondicherry (now Puducheri)
and four other tiny establish-
ments. For several reasons,
Paris could not immediately fol-
low the British example, though
it later became increasingly
A STRONG BOND: India and France now have a dynamic partnership difficult for both nations to
come out of their entrenched

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positions. For France, to find an honourable
exit and return the suzerainty over the French
establishments was not an easy task. Only the
wisdom and the determination of the French
Premier Pierre Mendès-France in 1954 saved
both nations from a longer and
unpleasant conflict.
The fate of the French
establishments in India was
mainly linked to the
situation in other
French colonies, par-
ticularly in Indochina and North Africa. The
de facto transfer of the French establishments
was linked with the fate of the Geneva Confer-
ence on Indochina and the de jure transfer
was ratified by the Parliament soon after the
Evian Agreement on Algeria. These elements,
external to the bilateral relations between
India and France played an important
historical role.
THE DEFENCE RELATIONS: FIRST
PHASE: 1947-1962
Due to the French colonial presence on the
subcontinent, the relations did not start too
well, though as early as January 1947, the
French Government asked for a ten-year
extension of the 1945 agreement permitting
military air ferries to fly across India; in July
1947 the Agreement on Air Services between
India and France was signed. For Paris, it was
an important strategic link to Indochina.
By the end of year, an interesting develop-
ment occurred. Nehru was “anxious to help in
every way in developing atomic energy in
India”. He decided to unofficially send
Dr Homi Bhabha to enquire about the possi-
bility of collaboration for the peaceful use of
atomic energy. Homi Bhabha had extremely
STRONG DEFENCE TIES: French Defence Minister Herve Morin in conversation with
former Chief of Army Staff, General Deepak Kapoor. Also seen in the picture: Chief of Air
Staff, P V Naik and Chief of the Naval Staff, Nirmal Verma
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ASSESSMENT
Rafale fighter aircraft
cordial contacts
with Frédéric Joliot-
Curie and Raoul Dautry, the first heads of
the French Atomic Energy Commission
(CEA), founded by General de Gaulle in 1945.
Joliot-Curie was at that time doing research
on two materials: beryllium and thorium.
Though Nehru believed in the programme
‘Atoms for Peace’, he considered nuclear
collaboration as discriminatory. Why coun-
tries with colonial territories should use raw
material looted from these colonies for their
research, he thought. This brought a halt to a
possible collaboration.
The French armament sales during this
first phase were relatively large despite these
factors. Some 49 Ouragan fighter planes
(produced by Dassault Aviation), 110 Mystère
and 12 Alizée (of Bréguet Aviation) were in
service in the Indian Air Force in 1962. In
1957, the Army had bought 150 French AMX
13 light tanks.
On September 22, 1962, General de
Gaulle received Nehru in Paris. Nehru
congratulated him for the settlement of the
Algerian crisis as well as the ratification of the
cession of the French Establishments in India.
Four weeks later, the Chinese treacherously
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GEOPOLITICS
attacked India.On October
27, Nehru called French Ambassador Jean-
Paul Garnier to tell him that it is ‘an invasion
pure and simple’. A month later (a few days
after the cease fire), the Indian Ambassador
Ali Javar Jung met de Gaulle to thank him for
the support spontaneously offered by Paris
during these difficult times. The General
told the Ambassador that he considered India
a friend.
PHASE 2: 1963-1971
On January 31, 1964, French foreign policy
took a new turn. President de Gaulle decided
to recognise the People’s Republic of China.
France had found a new friend.
This ‘independent’ attitude of the French
government was in many ways similar to the
one advocated by Nehru, minus, of course,
the Force de frappe (in French, ‘Strike Force’
for nuclear deterrence). Unfortunately for the
two nations, this did not translate into a sig-
nificant improvement in the Indo-French
relations. France remained a friend, not an
ally. During the period between 1962 and
1971, the French sales mainly pertained to
Alizé aircraft, AS-30 air-to-surface missiles,
Entac and SS-11/AS-11 anti-tank missiles.
Operation Gibraltar, launched in August
1965 by Pakistan to infiltrate the State of Jam-
mu and Kashmir and foment an insurgency in
the Valley, triggered a new conflict between
India and Pakistan. During the short war in
September 1965, France followed the US’s
leadership and imposed an arm embargo
against the belligerents. It should however be
noted that Paris continued to supply spare
parts for French aircraft.The ‘commercial’
attitude of the French government was not
always appreciated by its Western allies, but
it enhanced France’s image in Delhi who
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GEOPOLITICS
probably considered France the most reliable
Western ‘friend’.
PHASE 3: 1971-1990
During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War,
France continued to be India’s friend (André
Malraux, General de Gaulle’s senior minister
alerted the public opinion about the extent of
the massacres in East Pakistan and declared
that he was ready to go to fight on their side).
From 1971 till its collapse in 1989, the Soviet
Union remained the first supplier of arma-
ment to India, France was the third (the
British were second).
The purchase of 150 Mirages 2000 was
announced in December 1981 to counter the
American F 16 ordered by Pakistan, but the
final agreement was for 40 planes only. Since
India needed the fighter aircraft quickly, the
first part of an initial batch of 26
single-seaters and four two-seaters was
shipped in 1985.
The second part of this initial batch
consisted of 10 more single-seaters with the
M53-P2 engine, with these aircraft designated
Mirage 2000H. A second batch of six Mirage
2000H single-seaters and three Mirage
2000TH two-seaters was shipped in
1987-1988. In 1986, nine more planes were
ordered. By the end of 1982, India received its
first Milans, the reputed Franco-German anti-
tank guided missile. The Bharat Dynamics
Limited started manufacturing them in
January 1985 under license.
Before President Mitterrand’s visit in Feb-
ruary 1989, France concluded a contract for
the feasibility study of the construction of an
aircraft-carrier in the dockyards of Cochin for
the Indian Navy; this project never fructified.
What India considered to be one of the
most-damaging aspect for the bilateral
relations was Paris’ ambivalent relation with
Pakistan. France keeping equidistance
between India and Pakistan remained a seri-
ous bone of contention between Delhi and
Paris during the following years.
These are some of the events which
influenced, in one way or another, the bilater-
al relations between the two nations during
this period.
PHASE 4: 1991-2007: INDIA BECOMES
A POWER TO RECKON
The beginning of the 1990s witnessed a new
economic birth for India. On the internation-
al stage, this period saw the collapse of the
Soviet Union and the chaos in Afghanistan
which eventually led to the advent of the
Taliban regime. Despite the disappearance of
the Soviet Union and the world turning
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ASSESSMENT
the new strategic dialogue could take its first
FRANCE IS IN concrete step. The Indian Prime Minister
announced: “President Chirac and I have
THE FAVOUR OF decided to initiate a strategic dialogue
between the two countries. Both countries
INDIA FOR A share a perspective that the new world order
PERMANENT has to be a genuine multi-polar world order.”
These events set in motion a closer col-
SEAT IN THE UN laboration. From the friendship mentioned
by de Gaulle, the relation had become a part-
SECURITY nership. By putting proper structures in place,
COUNCIL the dialogue was institutionalised.Though
President Chirac’s visit to India in February
2006 was marred by the Clémenceau contro-
unipolar, the Russian Republic remained versy, it further cemented the close relations
India’s main armament supplier. between the two nations. On the eve of the
An interesting aspect of the 1990s is the visit, France’s ambassador Dominique Girard
tremendous boost in bilateral relations given had summed up the relations: “The strategic
by the visits of President Chirac in January partnership that they have forged with one
1998 and Prime Minister Vajpayee’s trip to another must be based on sound and coordi-
Paris later in the year. The most striking nated defence systems.”
feature was the setting-up of a framework for In the past, France’s India policy has been
a strategic partnership. Chirac said that he dependant on many external factors: French
had come to show that “France wanted to colonial past in Indo-China and Africa, Gen-
accompany India in its potent march eral de Gaulle’s ‘discovery’ of China, Paris’
(towards the future)”. alliance with other Western powers, etc., but
Chirac’s words were not mere political since 1998, Paris has turned a fresh page.
niceties. When India conducted its nuclear Today the policy of equidistance between
tests in Pokhran in May, France was one of the Delhi and Islamabad, which hampered the
few countries which did not condemn Delhi ‘friendship’ between Paris and Delhi, is no
(or impose sanction). This was greatly appre- more. After September 11, 2001, it became
ciated in Delhi and when Prime Minister even more obvious that India and Pakistan
Vajpayee returned Chirac’s visit in October, could not be equated.
France has many cards in her hand: one
“THE CHIEF is her strong stand in favour of India for a per-
manent seat in the UN Security Council;
PROJECT another considerable advantage is of a close
Indo-French collaboration in the nuclear
UNDERWAY field. France and India were the first nations
IS THE to sign an agreement for cooperation in the
field of civil nuclear energy. On the occasion
MANUFACTURE, of the 2008 visit of Dr Manmohan Singh to
France, the document was inked by French
UNDER LICENCE IN INDIA, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Anil
OF SIX SCORPENE Kakodkar, Chairman of the Indian Atomic
Energy Commission on September 30.
SUBMARINES AT The Joint Statement issued after the
France-India Summit in Paris stated that
MAZAGAON DOCKS, President Sarkozy and Dr Manmohan Singh
MUMBAI; IT IS A PROJECT “reaffirmed the importance attached by both
countries to their strategic partnership and
TO WHICH WE FEEL their commitment to further strengthening
bilateral cooperation in a wide range of
TOTALLY COMMITTED, areas”. During the bilateral Summit both sides
ALONGSIDE OUR INDIAN
reiterated their intention to keep up the
momentum of these top-level exchanges.
PARTNERS.” Indo-French relations in the years to
come will probably take a new qualitative
HERVÉ MORIN, turn, even if it does not always translate into
FRENCH DEFENCE MINISTER direct arms sales. Apart from a collaboration
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for the civilian use of the atomic energy,
which has gone a long way from the days of
Homi Bhabha and Joliot-Curie, the area
which is the most likely to expand, is the field
of joint-ventures and delocalisation.
In an interview with this writer, Mr. Hervé
Morin, the French Defence Minister gave
details of the on-going projects: “The chief
project underway is the manufacture, under
licence in India, of six Scorpene submarines
at Mazagaon docks, Mumbai; it is a project to
which we feel totally committed, alongside
our Indian partners. Among other projects
that have matured, one can cite the moderni-
sation of the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000
fleet; two joint development projects — the
ADDING VALUE: French Scorpene submarines will provide fillip to India’s inadequate nuclear submarine fleet
Maitri project for a surface-to-air defence
missile system, and the Kaveri fighter aircraft
engine; the supply of reconnaissance and
observation helicopters or, in the slightly
longer term, the second phase of six
submarines.”
When asked about the tender for
purchasing 126 medium multirole combat
aircraft and Dassault’s offer of the Rafale, the
French Minister said: “The Rafale is an
exceptional aircraft, which meets the needs
of the Indian Air Force particularly well. I am
sure that the field trials, completed in spring
2010, would have enabled the Indian Air
Force and the Ministry of Defence to gauge
fully the quality of this aircraft, which the
French Air Force itself is equipped with”, but
added the importance France attached to
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ASSESSMENT
collaboration: “As part of this partnership,
we are, of course, extremely attentive to the
comments or specific requirements that the
Indian Air Force or the Ministry of Defence
may send us.”
Mr. Morin also insisted on the role that
India should be playing in Afghanistan:
“France considers the regional aspect to
constitute an important factor for the settle-
ment of the Afghan crisis. For historical,
geographical and strategic reasons, India is a
major player in the region. It therefore,
unquestionably, has an important role to
play. Its contribution to Afghanistan’s recon-
struction has, moreover, been welcomed by
the international community as it brings
direct benefits to Afghanistan’s economic
development, the well-being of the local peo-
ple and the consolidation of the rule of law.”
Though officially, Paris remains shy to
speak about Pakistan (Morin repeated the
same old tune: “Pakistan is an essential part-
ner for fighting terrorism. Our dialogue with
this country, including the military sphere,
has but a single goal: reinforcement of
Pakistani military capabilities for fighting
radical extremists”), the Sarkozy government
knows where its interests are.
In April 2010, Paris decided to suspend a
military contract worth $1.6 billion to Pak-
istan. The French daily, Le Monde wrote that
the contract with Islamabad could have
affected Indo-French strategic relations. The
newspaper quoted an advisor to the French
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GEOPOLITICS
President, “The refusal is, inter alia, related
to French-Indian relations.” The signing of
this contract would not serve the French
interests in New Delhi, he said. Pakistan
wanted electronic hardware and missiles for
the JF-17 fighter aircrafts developed in col-
laboration with China (three French compa-
nies, OTE, Thales and MBDA were involved).
The cancellation (or at least postpone-
ment) of the deal is probably linked to the
contract for refitting the Indian Air Force’s
Mirage 2000 fighter planes, which could be
signed during Sarkozy’s visit.
When President Sarkozy arrives in Del-
hi, the Indian Prime Minister will probably
not use the same carpet that for the US Pres-
ident; he will certainly not receive Sarkozy
and his wife at the airport, but hopefully the
visit will have some substance.
One of the problems with the United
States being that with a hostile Congress,
the President is not the master in his own
country. This is not the case for France.
Will ‘old bonds, friendship and generosity’
take new heights? One will have to wait the
first week of December to know. But
undoubtedly, President Sarkozy who
would just have taken over the Presidency
of the G20 will try to make this visit a
historic one and not just because of his
wife’s presence.
(The author is French-born author,
journalist, historian and Sinologist)
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AMBASSADORJOURNAL

DANCING WITH THE DRAGON

China should not be misunderstood through the English-version of the word dragon,
argues JI PING

SYMBOL OF FAITH: Dragon is truly entrenched in the social ethos of Chinese people.

T
HE IMAGE of China is so closely
linked with the Dragon that when-
ever we talk about China, the Drag-
on will spontaneously appear in our
mind. That is partly because many
Chinese people often use the term “Descen-
dants of the Dragon” as a sign of ethnic identity,
and the dragon is regarded as animal symbols
for representation of the nation, just as the ele-
phant was used among Indians, and the wolf
was used among the Mongols. However, the
concept of Dragon in China and other East
Asian Countries is extremely different from that
in the rest of the world that creates a misinter-
pretation of People’s Republic of China.

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TALES OF TWO DRAGONS
The English word “dragon” derives from
Greek, meaning “a serpent of huge size”. The
two most familiar interpretations of dragons
are the European Dragon, derived from vari-
ous European folk traditions and ultimately
related to Greek and Middle Eastern mytholo-
gies, and the unrelated Chinese Dragon. The
European Dragon is usually shown in modern
times with a body like a huge lizard, or a snake
with two pairs of lizard-type legs, and able to
spit fire from mouths. Sometimes they also
have bat-type wings growing from its back.
Following discovery of how pterosaurs walked
on the ground, some dragons have been por-
trayed without front legs and using the wings
as front legs like pterosaur on the ground.
European dragons exist in folklore and
mythology among the overlapping cultures of
Europe. Despite having wings, the dragon is
generally depicted as having an underground
lair or cave, making it an ancient creature of
the earth element. European dragons are usu-
ally depicted as malevolent.
Naturally, Westerners sometimes confuse
the benevolent Chinese dragon with the
aggressive Western dragon.
In most of Indian friends’ perception, the
Chinese Dragon is more or less equal to the
European one. The Chinese Dragon is also a
“fleet-footed” animal of the mountains that
“can move faster than the swiftest river, so that
nothing escapes them”, and “they have teeth
as sharp and indestructible as those of the
largest fishes”, “their eye is sunk deep under
the eyebrow, and emits a terrible and ruthless
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AMBASSADORJOURNAL
glance”. And “they give off a noise like the
clashing of brass whenever they are burrow-
ing under the earth, and from their crests,
which are all fiery red, there flashes a fire
brighter than a torch”.
DANCE WITH DRAGON
As a matter of fact, the Chinese dragon has
quite different characteristics and origins
from those of the European one. In Euro-
pean-influenced cultures the dragon has
aggressive, warlike connotations.
An orthodox Chinese Dragon should be
assembled by the horns of a deer, the head of
a camel, the palms of a tiger and the ears of a
cow. It symbolises power and excellence,
valiancy and bravery, heroism and persever-
ance, nobility and divinity. A dragon over-
comes obstacles until success is his. He is
energetic, decisive, optimistic, intelligent and
ambitious. Moreover, unlike the negative
images associated with the Western Dragon,
the Chinese Dragon is elegant, friendly, and
wise. They are the angels in China. Instead of
being hated, they are loved and worshipped.
Temples and shrines have been built to hon-
our them, for they control the rain, rivers,
lakes, and seas. Many Chinese cities have
pagodas where people used to burn incense
and pray to dragons as Indian people pray to
Hanuman or Ganesha.
Chinese people believe the dragon is the
ruler of rivers and lakes who could marshal
clouds and rain. So, whenever there was a
drought or flooding, people would pray the
dragon for rain or no more rain. On the front
covers of the old Chinese lunar calendars,
there used to be words telling how many
dragons would harness the flood that year. In
the folk festive days, dragons also served as a
symbol of joy and happiness. For example,
there is dragon lantern festival in the New
Year and dragon boat race on the fifth day of
the fifth moon.
For thousands of years, the Chinese
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GEOPOLITICS
people have respected and liked dragons,
regarding them as a symbol of the character
and spirit of the Chinese nationalities. There-
fore the term “descendants of the dragon” is
used to refer to the entire Chinese nation. And
dozens of Dragon tales suggest that dragon
symbolize the spirits of the Chinese peoples.
In Chinese daily language, only excellent
and outstanding people are compared to
dragon while incapable people with no
achievements are compared with disesteemed
creatures. A number of Chinese proverbs and
idioms feature references to the dragon, for
example, “Wangzhichenlong” (Hoping one’s
son will become a dragon), i.e. be as successful
and powerful as a dragon. Kungfu movie star,
Jackie Chen, famous for his acrobatic fighting
style is still very popular among the Indian
fans, though only few of them know that his
name actually means “Becoming Dragon”. If
the Chinese dragon doesn’t symbolize
strength, good luck and auspicious powers,
who will like to have such a”terrible” name.
RENAME AND REBUILT
If someone thinks the Chinese Dragon and the
Western Dragon are the same, mainly because
they don’t know the culture background, but
we also should not rule out the possibility of
an anti-China political design.
To label the Communist China as a Drag-
on with fire emitting from its mouth can easily
mislead innocent people giving them the
impression that the rising China is a potential
threat. For example, a book recently published
on Chinese military strategy improperly titled
as “The Dragon’s Fire”. The China threat
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AMBASSADORJOURNAL
Photo courtesy: www.verythai.co.uk

TRUE SPIRIT: the translation of Chinese Dragon into

(Top) Dragon boat “Loong” to differentiate from the western
race; (bottom) the Dragon.
Water Dragon “Loong” is the pronunciation of “drag-
Lantern festival on” in Mandarin Chinese. The name will nat-
urally arouse rich literary associations with
the concept of longevity which is in fact one
Fire” when we talk of features of Loong.
about Bhutanese By doing so, a correct image of the Chi-
military strategy? nese national symbol could be rebuilt. Most
Photo courtesy: www.lantern-festival.com

Chinese people of people who misunderstand Chinese Drag-

theory is not only a byproduct of the tremen-
dous economic growth, but also an intention-
ally misinterpretation of China’s image. They
are very reluctant to believe that Chinese lead-
ership’s call for a harmonious world is sincere.
They’d rather believe China is a threat to other
countries as the Dragon is a threat to the other
creatures. Bhutanese use the same image of
dragon as in China in their national flag and
emblem, but who will title it as “The Dragon’s
will certainly not
accept any propose
to change its nation-
al symbol, since we
love the legendary
creature. If we are
not able to change
the set mind of
those who believe in
China threat and
keen to demonize the country, we might be
able to firstly change the mind of those who
don’t know about the culture background,
because people in this category are all peace
loving people, they will accept the concept of
the Chinese Dragon as a auspicious creature
once they understand it cultural background.
However, to understand the cultural
background is not easy. Before education,
what we can do now is that we can change
on due to the incorrect information will pos-
sibly change their mind. Loong respects the
others. Loong values cooperation. Loong
promotes the concept of world harmony. In
a word, Loong would be more peace loving
than Dragon.
China and India are great neighbors. On
the occasion of celebration the 60 years
anniversary of establishment of diplomatic
relations between China and India, a new
word shows the growing unity and friend-
ship between China and India could also be
created---Loongelephant or Haathiloong.
We wish Loong and Haathi perfect coopera-
tion and peaceful coexistence forever!
(The writer is Counsellor at the Chinese
Embassy in Delhi and a senior research
fellow of the Chinese Center for
Contemporary World Studies, Beijing.)

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diplomacy
STILL GOING STRONG
India-Russia defence relations, in spite of the mixed contemporary perceptions, continue to
be strong and focussed. DEBA R MOHANTY looks at the historic ties and the roadmap ahead
F
ROM A mere $30 million worth of
arms supply to India in 2002, the US
has already agreed to supply or
signed defence deals worth $11 bil-
lion in the last two years. Many
defence deals with the US are also in pipeline.
The current scenario gives sufficient indica-
tions that countries like the US, UK and France
are emerging as major arms suppliers to India
while countries like Israel and South Korea are
fast emerging as military industrial collabora-
tors in Indian defence industries apart from
American, British and French companies.
Since the resumption of full diplomatic
ties in1992, Israel has in the last decade sup-
plied $12 billion worth of weaponry to India
and is already the second highest supplier to
India. Even countries like South Korea which
has recently bid in the LPD naval system has
already signed MoUs with India for joint indus-
trial collaborations in many military systems
production. British supply of Hawks jet train-
ers and French Scorpene submarines have
been instances of large multi-billion dollar
deals that have been underway for the past few
years and both countries also see India as a big
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GEOPOLITICS
SPECIALFEATURE
opportunity for their defence companies.
All these developments put together give
an impression that the influence of Russia as
the dominant arms supplier to India seems to
be diminishing while that of others on the rise.
Even, collaborative military industrial efforts
with Indian companies seem to attract
non-Russian companies more than the Rus-
sians would imagine. It appears that Russians
are more depending on government-
to-government military transactions than
expanding the larger defence relations to
intra-company arrangements, including col-
laborative military R&D efforts. To sum up,
perceptions seem real in the current context
which gives rise to an assumption that the
India-Russia defence relations are headed
downhill while Russian peers in the Indian
arms market are in ascendancy.
Are then the prospects for Russia as a
dominant military equipment supplier to
India dim in future? Not really. Despite the
hype and considerable attention toward other
suppliers by India in recent times, its robust
relationship with Russia will ensure that the
latter’s influence will ‘certainly not’ wane in
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immediate (5-10 years), ‘may not’ be in
medium (10 -25 years); and if Russia acts pru-
dently then ‘perhaps never’ in long-term
future. The bilateral relations would not suffer
at the cost of any relationship that India may
strive to improve with other major powers.
Geopolitical calculations would suggest that
India’s friendship with Russia would be
independently nurtured despite much fluidity
in international affairs.
FOUR ARGUMENTS
Defence relations between two countries are
determined by a host of factors. During the
Cold War, alliance politics dominated strate-
gic affairs whereby the two super-powers
used to supply weapons to their respective
allies or friends. This was also a period when
dominant suppliers from either bloc were
debarred from developing defence relations
with countries from opposite camps. Coun-
tries like India which proclaimed independ-
ent foreign policy choices under the broader
‘non-alignment’ were left with hard choices
for weapons acquisitions.
India’s deepening defence relations with
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Soviet Union was thus criticised by the West
while India had to make choices to either go
for Soviet weaponry or build a formidable
industrial base in an era of sanctions. Soviet
help to India at a critical juncture in its histo-
ry was a bi-product of mutual understanding
between the two political leaderships, inter-
estingly dominated by Communists in Soviet
Union and Congress party’s long innings in
India. As mutual political understanding
between the two countries played out in larg-
er global politics, it was obvious that both
countries would deepen their defence rela-
tions. It is this mutual trust in each other that
has stood the tests of time and will continue
to be so in future.
What are the major factors in the India-
Russia relations that have not only withstood
tests of time but also evolved in such a manner
that the foundations of the relationship have
actually gone deeper? A set of four arguments
are advanced here for further debate.
„ First, there does not appear to be any
major conflictual geo-strategic issues
between the two countries which could
mar their political relations in the contem-
porary times. In fact, Russia and India
have common interests on major interna-
tional issues. India’s aspiration to be in the
high table is not opposed by Russia. The
India-US civil nuclear deal and the entry
into civil nuclear trade has been supported
by Russia all along, knowing fully well that
it would benefit considerably in this area
of activity.
„ Second, no other country has such a long
defence relationship with India where
defence supply has been central to the
bilateral relations. Western European
countries were dominant suppliers for
slightly more than a decade from late
1940s till early 1970s. The US supplied a
few systems during this period but after
that it fully stopped its supply.
It was only during the mid-1990s that Israel
started supplying systems to India. Even in the
case of Israel, very few big items have been
purchased although of late its role in supply of
critical technologies and involvement in pro-
grammes like UAVs, military electronics and
avionics merit attention. It is only after India
decided to open up its private sector for partic-
ipation in defence production and enlarging
its basket of choices in defence acquisitions
that major suppliers like France, UK and the
US have started coming in.
Three primary factors — degree of politi-
co-strategic relations, exports regulations and
imparting or sharing of knowledge — typify a
robust defence relationship between two
www.geopolitics.in
g
SPECIALFEATURE
countries. Except for Russia, none other
supplier has reached a level whereby India can
afford to look forward for a reliable strategic
partnership. Russia is still ahead of others in
this context.
„ Third, India-Russia defence relations have
already become mature which normally
comes in alliance politics like Anglo-Saxon
model or very special relationship like US-
Israel. Very few parallel examples can be
found in case of other countries like the
ones that Russia has developed with India.
All major purchases from Russia from T-
90, MiGs, Su-30s to Admiral Gorshkov and
Nerpa suggest the range of products that a
country can sell to anybody, which is
indeed exceptional. Russia as a special
country is willing to help in indigenous
systems like nuclear submarines which
other countries would hesitate to argue
the least.
Not to be left behind in other fronts, the
India-Russia military cooperation has also wit-
nessed a great leap forward in joint training
and military exercises. The Indian and Russian
armies have conducted a joint military exer-
cise named EX INDRA -10 in the Kumaon Hills
around Ranikhet in late October 2010. The
exercise spread over a ten-day period enabling
greater synergy between the forces and a clear-
er understanding of the doctrine practiced by
each country to combat terrorism, thereby fur-
ther cementing the relationship which has
existed between the two countries.
„ Fourth, India-Russia defence relations
have long entered the next phase of indus-
trial cooperation which even pre-dates
“WE HAVE VERY
GOOD BIG
PLANS AND WE
HAVE VERY
SERIOUS
PROJECTS. WE WILL TRY
TO DO OUR BEST IN
ORDER TO PROVE THAT
OUR BILATERAL
COOPERATION CAN GIVE
US VERY GOOD PRACTICAL
RESULTS.”
AE SERDYUKOV,
RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER
(69)
GEOPOLITICS
India’s new liberalised competition-based
arms market. The Brahmos JV is the exam-
ple in this context. Besides, sensing the
changing mood of Indian political leader-
ship to adopt and practice open, transpar-
ent and competitive arms acquisition as
well as production policies, Russia has
offered joint efforts in some strategic pro-
grammes which other countries would
take long to decide.
The recent tenth meeting of the India-Russia
Inter-Governmental Commission on Military
Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) held in
New Delhi in early October 2010, led by the
Indian Defence Minister AK Antony and the
Russian Defence Minister Mr. AE Serdyukov,
has expressed satisfaction at the conclusion of
the shareholders agreement for formation of a
joint venture company for the development
and production of the Multi-role Transport Air-
craft (MTA).
Further, both sides have agreed to expe-
dite modalities for the proposed project for the
joint design, development and production of
the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).
“India hopes to get 45 MTA and also finalise
the FGFA, … all the issues we have discussed
and solved between our two countries… now it
is in the final stages of the Indian government,
some technical formalities between the gov-
ernments is needed and I am sure we will be
able to complete very soon…within a few
months,” Antony later told a joint press confer-
ence. “As per this agreement, India will receive
approximately between 250 and 300 most-
modern FGFA.
“These two projects are the major achieve-
ments of this year and for the next ten years
these two projects, MTA and FGFA, will be a
shining example of India and Russian defence
cooperation,” he added further. The Joint
Commission also reviewed the status of sever-
al other ongoing and proposed projects,
including the licenced production of T-90
Tanks and the establishment of the repair and
overhaul facilities for various Russian origin
defence equipment in India.
CHALLENGES AND WAYS FORWARD
Central assumptions on the robustness and
promising futuristic scenarios of India-Rus-
sia defence relations may not be as smooth as
it seems and thus should not be taken for
granted. Four practical issues need to be
highlighted here for understanding the flip
sides of the relationship. First, a new Indian
strategy of defence industrial cooperation
model as well as competition based acquisi-
tion suggests that the often one-sided
defence supply lines that have largely been
processed through inter-governmental
December 2010
India-Russia.qxd 12/1/2010 4:54 PM Page 56

diplomacy
g
GEOPOLITICS

SPECIALFEATURE

arrangements are likely to change tracks to

embrace open competition. This is likely to
put pressure on Russia to remain a player in
the future Indian arms market.
Second, although Russia has been able to
forge industrial and company level ties with
mainly state-owned entities like HAL, it faces
a challenge in forging such ties with Indian
private companies, many of which are
expected to play a key role in the future Indi-
an military industrial landscape. The on-
going or announced JVs between private
Indian and foreign companies far outnumber
such JVs between Indian and Russian com-
panies. Russia practically works on a single
window model with Rosboronexport as the
nodal point for military acquisition and
industrial cooperation.
Third, as and when competitive model will
take root, Russians may have difficulties in
forging ties with Indian companies due to their
rigid bureaucratic systems, which needs fur-
ther reforms as like those in India which is
already undergoing reforms in its higher
EPITOMISING FRIENDSHIP: Brahmos missile has given a big boost to India-Russia
defence management sector. defence ties
And finally, although defence relationship

INDIA IS experiencing a unique moment terms like shared values, shared visions, sector for private participation and open
ARMS AND INDIA

in the history of its international rela-
tions where five heads of states visit New
Delhi in a span of six months in 2010.
The British Prime Minister has already
visited in July 2010, signing nearly $1
billion worth weapons supply to India,
among others. The US President Barack
Obama visited India from 6 to 8 Novem-
ber 2010, hogging the limelight with a
series of announcements and promises
related to trade, defence and internation-
al relations.
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and President of the Russian Federation
Dimitry Medvedev will visit New Delhi,
while the fifth top dignitary Chinese Pre-
mier Wen Jiabao is also slated to visit in
December 2010 (the last with whom
India has virtually no military industrial
relations). This is unique, unprecedented
and challenging on the part of India in
terms of not only fashioning but also
prioritising national foreign policy choic-
es vis-à-vis major powers at a time when
the global security scenario is witnessing
much fluidity in current times. ‘Arms
Dynamic’ plays one of the most impor-
tant strategic considerations in this sce-
nario otherwise dominated by esoteric
shared concerns, etc.
Consider this: global military expendi-
ture was $1.26 trillion at the peak of the
Cold War era in 1987, it plummeted to
$704 billion in 1996 and has gone up
again to stand at $1.53 trillion in 2009.
All indicators of military efforts — force
structure, military R&D, equipment —
have shown similar zigzag trends in the
last quarter century, which suggest that
arms dynamic has made a strong come-
back in global affairs and is likely to stay
that way for the foreseeable future. It is
interesting to note that while countries
like UK plan to slash their defence budg-
ets with the US a likely follower and
UK and France coming together to con-
coct their arsenals for meeting future
threats, global military efforts are still
likely to intensify and increase further.
This has significant implications for a
country like India.
Pruning it down from arms dynamic
to pure ‘arms trade’, it will be obvious
that it is the lucrative Indian arms mar-
ket, considered ‘weapons merchants’ par-
adise’, which is driving major arms sup-
pliers to India of late, especially since
2002 when India opened up its military
competition in arms acquisitions. Consid-
er these: India’s military procurement
budget has increased by 500 per cent in
the last eight years (crossing $15 billion
in 2010 from $3 billion in 2002); prima-
rily equipment-driven long-term military
modernisation programme underway
since 2007 for the next fifteen years
(2022) necessitating arms purchase
worth $180 to 200 billion at a very con-
servative estimate (practically everything
is needed either as replenishment or
force modernisation); inability of the
Indian state-owned defence manufactur-
ers to even produce more than 25
per cent of the cumulative needs of the
armed forces (license production
arrangements excluded as they do not
contribute much to self-reliance efforts);
and last but not the least, the aggressive
nature of industrial strategies pursued by
arms manufacturers in order to survive
in the global arms market. India offers
one of the best platforms for arms manu-
facturers to do business. Interpreted in
simple terms, it is lucrative arms business
which drives major powers to India
where there is convergence of business
interests under larger ‘strategic interests’.

(70)
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India-Russia.qxd 12/1/2010 4:54 PM Page 57

g
GEOPOLITICS

SPECIALFEATURE

“INDIA WILL
RECEIVE
APPROXIMATELY
BETWEEN 250 AND 300
MOST-MODERN
FIFTH GENERATION
FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
(FGFA). MULTI-ROLE
TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT
(MTA) AND FGFA WILL BE
A SHINING EXAMPLE OF
INDIA AND RUSSIAN
DEFENCE
COOPERATION.”
AK ANTONY,
DEFENCE MINISTER

constitutes only one of the cores of any strate-

gic partnership, Russia has thus far managed
to deepen its relations with India based over-
whelmingly on defence with very low degree
of economic/trade relations. This may prove
counter productive for Russia in coming
times as its peers have been stressing on
simultaneous economic and defence rela-
tions in a larger framework. It is high time
Russia adopted trade with India as a strategic
tool to enhance its relationship with India.
India and Russia have enjoyed a partner-
ship that has been special throughout the last
half a century. Russia is likely to be India’s
predominant defence supplier for the fore-
seeable future. Even though other suppliers
are likely to increase their stake in the lucra-
tive Indian arms market, Russia will in all
probability retain its predominant position.
However, new realities must lead to pragmat-
ic approaches by both countries in order to
reap the best of their friendships. In this sce-
nario, India’s new strategic outlook is increas-
ingly becoming evident, while it remains to
be seen as to how Russian strategy shapes up
in future.

(The author is a Senior Fellow in

CLAIM TO FAME: INS Tarkash, a guided missile frigate being launched at Yantar
Security Studies at the Observer Research
Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia on June 23, 2010
Foundation, New Delhi)

(71)
www.geopolitics.in December 2010
TechScan December.qxd 12/1/2010 5:41 PM Page 24

TECH SCAN
DO
R
D ILSS FOR IAF PILOTS
FIGHTER AIRCRAFT of the Indian Air Force
and Navy will now have an advanced tech-
nology to enable them to strike almost any-
where in the world from the bases in India.
Especially, aircraft-carrier-borne fighter
planes fit with the advanced system —
called integrated life support system
(ILSS)—could give the Indian Navy the
much-needed capability to grow into a blue
water navy on the lines of that of USA.
The ILSS ensures uninterrupted oxygen
supply to the pilot even as it protects him
from adverse effects of high altitude flying
and extreme gravitational forces acting on
his body during high-speed combat
manoeuvres. Defence Bioengineering &
Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL) (a
Defence Research & Development Organi-
sation — DRDO laboratory) has developed
this advanced technology. It will now
improve immensely the present situation
where the IAF’s fighter aircraft merely carry
oxygen cylinders for the pilots to breathe.
But these have limited supply and the
pilots need to return to base to replenish
the oxygen needed for the pilots to survive
in the cockpit at high altitudes. The
engineering model of the ILSS, which has
g
an onboard oxygen generation system, or
OBOGS, will continuously supply oxygen to
the pilot without fears of being exhausted.
The oxygen supply will be ensured as long
as there is fuel in the aircraft, the engine of
which will supply the life-supporting gas to
the pilots during long-distance, high-alti-
tude flights.
Since most of the advanced fighters in
the IAF have mid-air refuelling capabilities,
there is no problem of oxygen being sup-
plied, as the OBOGS would separate nitro-
gen and oxygen from the compressed air in
the engine to supply the latter to the pilots.
The OBOGS maintains the pilots’ oxygen
status at sea-level condition even while fly-
ing at high altitudes, with the overall ILSS
performs the task of protecting the pilots
against the extremes of altitudes and
severe gravitation (G) forces that they are
subjected to during aerial combats. ILSS’
anti-G valve renders adequate G-suit infla- advanced life-support system will be inte-
tion pressure to maintain the pilot’s blood grated with India’s light combat aircraft
circulation and prevent him from losing (LCA) Tejas, to begin with. Subsequently,
consciousness. the ILSS will be customised to the needs of
The technology is available only with other Indian aircraft capable of long-
five other countries in the world — USA, duration flights like MiG-29s, SU-30 MKIs
Russia, UK, France and Israel. This and Mirage-2000s.

TEJAS TO GET NOD

TEJAS — THE light combat aircraft — will
reach a crucial development landmark in
December when it gets the initial opera-
tional clearance, a much-delayed critical
step before its induction
into the Indian
Air Force (IAF), which
is eagerly awaiting
replacements of
its ageing fleet.
Defence Minister AK Antony has
assured a Parliamentary panel that the
LCA, under development since 1980s, was
now on the way to get final operational
clearance by the end of 2011.
The IAF expects to
start raising two
squadrons of
the LCA by the middle of 2011 and will
await for the introduction of improved
version of the aircraft, LCA mk-II, for fur-
ther orders.
LCA-mk II will have more powerful GE
engine which was selected recently after
competitive bidding. All the systems of
the aircraft, including the multi-
mode radar, air
data computers,
navigations equip-
ment and weapon plat-
forms have to be in place
for getting the IOC. It is a
much -awaited development in the
project.
The IAF had planned LCA to be the
mainstay of its fighter fleet replacing
Soviet-era Mig-21s which have been
in service for far too long. The delays
in the LCA project unsettled the replace-
ment arithmetic and it has now reached
a point when IAF is left with only around
30 combat squadrons.

(72)
www.geopolitics.in December 2010
TechScan December.qxd 12/1/2010 5:42 PM
Kaveri flight test successful
DEFENCE RESEARCH and Develop-
ment Organisation (DRDO) has suc-
cessfully flight-tested the indigenously
designed and developed Kaveri Engine
during the Flying Test Bed (FTB) trials
at Gromov Flight Research Institute
(GFRI),Moscow, Russia.
The engine, running right from
take-off to landing, flew for a period of
over one hour at an altitude of 6000 m
at a speed of 0.6 mach in its maiden
flight. The engine control, engine per-
formance and engine health were
found to be excellent during the test.
With this test, the Kaveri Engine is said
to have completed a major milestone
of the development programme.
Another 50-60 test flights will be
carried out in the coming months to
mature the engine in terms of reliabili-
ty, safety and airworthiness. These tri-
als would pave the way for further
flight trials of Kaveri Engine with a
fighter aircraft.
Rustom test flies
“RUSTOM”, THE Medium altitude long
endurance Unmanned Aircraft being
developed by Aeronautical Development
Establishment, a premier DRDO lab spe-
cializing in UAVs and flight control systems,
has been successfully flown in its maiden
flight. On October 18, the air-
craft was flown in a man-
ner exactly as
planned, up to
a height of 3000
ft. and remained
airborne for 30
minutes and com-
pleted all mission
requirements. It taxied, took off and landed
(among the most challenging maneuvers
for a UAV), using a runway
at an air field owned by Taneja Aerospace
and Aviation (TAAL), Hosur, like a
normal aircraft.
The subsequent flights will test and
www.geopolitics.in
Page 25
g
A team of 20 scientists from DRDO
has been working along with GFRI for
these trials. An existing IL-76 aircraft
was modified as a flying test bed for
this trial, with Kaveri engine replacing
one of the four engines of the aircraft.
The modifications included instru-
mentation required for trials as well as
integration of mechanical, electrical
and fuel system. The engine was con-
trolled by the pilot from the cockpit.
A number of taxi trials were carried
out with Kaveri Engine integrated with
the aircraft, before this maiden flight.
The engine data was recorded in the
aircraft as well as transmitted to
ground station by telemetry. The Kaveri
Engine is being developed for fighter
aircraft, at Gas Turbine Research Estab-
lishment, a DRDO laboratory based in
Bengaluru with the active support of
several other DRDO labs,
academic institutions
and industry partners.
demonstrate these capabilities such as GPS
controlled Way Point Navigation, Get U
Home, altitude and endurance parameters,
the systems for which have been already
incorporated in the aircraft.Ruston with a
designed endurance
of 12-15 hour,
25000 ft. altitude
ceiling and 75
kg pay load is
forerunner to
the more
advanced Rustom H and UCAV. The data
link for this aircraft has been developed by
DEAL, another DRDO laboratory and the
airframe has been built by Zephyr Aero-
space, Coimbatore. Rustom UAV can be
used by all the three armed forces of our
country. Such Unmanned Aircrafts
help to avoid the risk to the human pilots
in operations that involve flying in
hazardous zones.
(73)
“AVATAR” FOR SPACE
MISSIONS
SOON THERE will be hyperplanes, the
multipurpose, fully reusable aerospace
vehicles are going to be used for passen-
ger or freight transport as well as satellite
launching.
Many nations including United States,
Russia and India are working on hyper-
plane technology. The only successful
hypersonic flight was shown by X-43 of
USA.The hyperplane “Avatar” being devel-
oped by India is expected to be used as a
reusable missile launcher.
Avatar is a single-stage reusable rocket
plane developed by DRDO and ISRO for
launching satellites at extremely low cost
and taking tourists on rides into space.
Avatar is currently in the prototype testing
stage. DRDO plans to build and fly a
scaled-down version of Avatar, weighing
just 3 tonnes at takeoff.
FUTURE MBT
THE DEFENCE Research and Develop-
ment Organisation (DRDO) will soon
bring out India’s future main battle tank
(FMBT) with a 1500-horsepower (HP)
indigenous engine.
This future MBT, weighing only 50
tonnes, will replace beyond 2020 the
imported T-72 tanks, renamed Ajeya, with
the Indian Army. The work is moving on
speedily with various specifications for the
FMBT been finalised.
The DRDO is launching a project to
develop the transmission for the tank. The
indigenous engine and transmission will
together be called Bharat Power Pack
and it will meet the FMBT’s mobility
requirements.
December 2010
EDIT Rigt Angle December.qxd 12/1/2010 5:38 PM Page 35
Comprehending the totality
T
HE CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General)
often, and rightly so, disturbs India’s military
elites. After all, the CAG’s job is to ensure finan-
cial transparency in the country’s vital institu-
tions, including the Indian military, which is one
of the largest receivers of the money that Indian tax-payers
pay. And what is more important, with the regional
security environment becoming increasingly complex and
India inevitably playing a bigger global role in
the days to come, the military-spending will
only grow further. It is all the more reason,
therefore, that the CAG will have a greater
responsibility in ensuring financial accounta-
bility and transparency in the Ministry of
Defence.
Over the years, the CAG has been critical
of many aspects of the Indian military’s Prakash
logistics and supply chain setup — from
planning and procurement to storage and supply. It has
pointed out how the Defence Ministry has been making too
many financially irresponsible deals. Weapons deals have
always been shrouded in secrecy and there have been
accusations of substandard and overpriced weaponry
being purchased. Allegations of corruption and defence
procurement scams have surfaced many a time. The Bofors
scandal allegedly involved former Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi, while the coffin purchase scandal during the Kargil
War implicated the then Defence Minister George Fernan-
des. The latter was also accused of pushing through the
Barak missiles deal with Israel. Likewise, the MiG-21s came
under a lot of criticism a few years ago and were called “fly-
ing coffins”. The most recent instance of the CAG pointing
out improprieties in defence matters is the alleged corrup-
tion in the supply of provisions through military canteens.
However, as of now, no high authority implicated by the
CAG in matters pertaining to Indian military has been con-
victed. Rajiv Gandhi was cleared of all charges. George Fer-
nandes, against whom the CBI even launched criminal
cases after the assumption of office by the United Progres-
sive Alliance — in fact, the Congress party had made the
Coffin and Barak scandals a major issue in its electioneer-
ing — remains untarnished. And that brings the question:
Is CAG right all the time? It is precisely here that the Prime
Minister’s following observation makes sense:
“The reports of the Comptroller & Auditor General are
taken very seriously by the media, by the public, by the gov-
ernment and by our Parliament. This casts a huge respon-
sibility on the institution to ensure that its reports are accu-
rate, balanced and fair. Very often, there is a very thin line
between fair criticism and fault-finding, between hazard-
ing a guess and making a reasonable estimate, between a
bona fide genuine error and a deliberate mistake. As an
(74)
www.geopolitics.in
GEOPOLITICS
g
Right Angle
important watchdog in our democracy, it falls upon this
institution to sift the wheat from the chaff, to distinguish
between wrong-doing and genuine errors, to appreciate the
context and circumstances of the decision-making process-
es. This requires a very high degree of professional skill and
competence. The institution of Comptroller & Auditor Gen-
eral has acquitted itself very credibly in the past 150 years.
However, times are changing and so are our needs. The
institution will have, therefore, to further
enhance its capabilities and its skills and
re-orient itself to deliver results that our
nation expects of it in the years that lie
ahead.”
It is quite possible that the CAG has not
been able in some cases “to distinguish
between wrong-doing and genuine errors, to
Nanda appreciate the context and circumstances of
the decision-making processes”. Take the case
of coffins. They had to be procured during the Kargil War.
Time was the essence. Besides, one had to see the prevailing
prices then, not at what cost the ministry had bought them
before. Then there was the case of quality. Similarly, in many
a case the CAG has raised concerns over the government
buying weapon systems on the ground that Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is work-
ing on them. But then the fact remains that the DRDO’s
record in delivering quality systems is far from inspiring,
evident by an essay on the subject in this issue of Geopoli-
tics. In such a situation, the country, to retain its military
edge, has to look for foreign suppliers. And in doing so, the
procurement procedure, which is arguably not in tune with
the present needs and time, gets transgressed, leading to the
CAG’s reprimands and subsequent scandals loaded with
political overtones. In the process, and that is unfortunate,
the morale of our military gets adversely affected.
It is in this context that another observation of the Prime
Minister on the CAG is important: “Traditional, time-tested
ways of doing things, which lend credibility to an institution
in the public eye, may prove inadequate in the face of rising
aspirations and mounting pressure for quick and efficient
delivery of public services.”
In my humble opinion, the CAG often goes beyond “pro-
cedures established by law” (in which it does a
wonderful job) to “due process of law” (in which it has not
been up to the mark). Once you go by “due process”,
various factors need to go into the judgment since the mat-
ter involves a picture in totality, including the justification of
its very need and implications. And, to quote the Prime
Minister, “This requires high degree of professional skills
and competence” — something the CAG should think about
positively.
prakashnanda@newsline.in
December 2010
Diplomacny cover.qxd 5/31/2010 12:34 PM Page 53

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