RAdm. Sudhir Pillai (retd)

I know a lot less about economics than I do know about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated

— John McCain

This quote is good advice not just for India’s military leadership but also for our foreign policy and economics elite. From a military professional point of view, investments below a level can impact military readiness and can hamper the ‘bang for the buck’. This article seeks to analyse what current day realities about India's economy means for Indian military effectiveness.

The Raison d'être

A newspaper headline on January 9, read ‘Navy on standby for emergency evacuation of desis’. The article also stated as to how the mission could see India deploying the C-17 Globemaster for any evacuation that may be required. The headline followed the Iranian missile strikes on the US-led forces in Iraq and the fear that it could escalate into a broader conflict in the Middle East.

Militaries are maintained and exist for contingency responses such as these to protect vital national interests. The deployment of military, rather than civilian capabilities that the government owns, follows the need to cater to the potential of armed opposition in humanitarian missions. Such contingencies requiring the use of armed force are not rare, and, has often been necessary. Responses may require breaching that escalation threshold that one would never like to cross. It's this thin line separating the varying calibrated responses required that could reveal how military capability can be the yardstick that permits such interventions or could also highlight limitations that may prevent an effective intervention or evacuation.

As I wrote this article, another headline caught my eye which read ‘Fund-hit Navy set to scrap Rs 20K crore tender’. According to the article, ‘the Navy is the “first among the armed forces” to finalise a “rationalisation plan” for its capital acquisition projects, which ranges from “withdrawing some tenders” to “reducing numbers” in other mega programmes. The Defence Acquisitions Council to be chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh on January 17 will discuss all this’.

It appears that India’s expansive military plans and the Indian Navy’s Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan 2012-2027, the XII Plan Document, the XII Infrastructure Plan Document, the Indian Navy Indigenisation Plan 2015-2030 would all stand affected. To analysts, it would appear that the Indian Navy has little choice but roll back plans, given the grim economic realities that India confron