Corruption, Infighting and Old Weapons: A Weakened Indian Army

General VK Singh says that the current “hollowness” in the system is a manifestation of the procedures and processing time for procurements as well as legal impediments by vendors. And what he suggests the government to urgently do is “a direct indictment of the complex and slow defence procurement procedures.”

Taking a serious note of the ordnance factories that develop weapon systems and other fighting material, he said the “works are of poor quality and there is a dangerous lack of urgency at all levels” on matters of national security.

His worries are of serious concern for India for two main reasons. Firstly, his views cannot be ignored as those usual political barks out of frustration because he had prepared a detailed report on a comprehensive “transformation study” to modernize the Indian army a few years back. Secondly, with two inimical neighbours and with the reality of large land borders, India cannot commit such shortcomings as they can severely erode the army’s preparedness. The authorities need to urgently mitigate these grave deficiencies which have a severe negative impact on the operational capability of our “once” a mighty army.