DEFENCE REFORMS A National Imperative DEFENCE REFORMS A National Imperative Editors Gurmeet Kanwal Neha Kohli INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE STUDIES & ANALYSES NEW DELHI PENTAGON PRESS Defence Reforms: A National Imperative Editors: Gurmeet Kanwal and Neha Kohli First Published in 2018 Copyright © Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi ISBN 978-93-86618-34-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without first obtaining written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this book are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, or the Government of India. Published by PENTAGON PRESS 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat New Delhi-110049 Phones: 011-64706243, 26491568 Telefax: 011-26490600 email: [email protected] website: www.pentagonpress.in In association with Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses No. 1, Development Enclave, New Delhi-110010 Phone: +91-11-26717983 Website: www.idsa.in Printed at Avantika Printers Private Limited. Contents Preface vii About the Authors xi 1. Introduction: The Need for Defence Reforms 1 Gurmeet Kanwal SECTION I REFORMS IN OTHER MILITARIES 2. Reforms Initiated by Major Military Powers 17 Rajneesh Singh 3. Military Might: New Age Defence Reforms in China 28 Monika Chansoria SECTION II STRUCTURAL REFORMS 4. Higher Defence Organisation: Independence to the Mid-1990s 51 R. Chandrashekhar 5. Defence Reforms: The Vajpayee Years 66 Anit Mukherjee 6. Defence Planning: A Review 75 Narender Kumar 7. Transformation: Military Force to Military Power 99 Vinod Bhatia 8. Intelligence Reforms to Meet Future Challenges 109 Kamal Davar vi Defence Reforms 9. Inter-ministerial and Inter-departmental Coordination 130 Shakti Sinha SECTION III DEFENCE BUDGET AND PROCUREMENT 10. Defence Budget: Optimising Planning and Utilisation – I 147 Anjan Mukherjee 11. Defence Budget: Optimising Planning and Utilisation – II 164 Amit Cowshish 12. Indian Defence Industry: A Reform Agenda 180 Laxman Kumar Behera SECTION IV EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION 13. Professional Military Education: Agenda for Reform 201 P.K. Mallick 14. Rethinking Strategic Communication in the Age of “Instant” Warfare 224 Shruti Pandalai Index 238 Preface For many years after India’s independence in 1947, the Higher Defence Organisation (HDO) handed down by Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy and his Chief of Staff, Lord Ismay, remained almost entirely unchanged. The first instance of change came with the Sino-Indian Conflict of 1962 that aroused a new defence consciousness in the country after years of neglect. Thus, efforts to formalise defence planning began earnestly in 1964 when the first Five Year Defence Plan was drawn up. In 1965, a ‘Planning Cell’ was established in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Unfortunately, while the threats and challenges to national security have grown manifold, the decision making and defence planning structures have not simultaneously evolved or kept pace. Rather, sporadic, piecemeal and ad hoc defence reforms were undertaken periodically, more often than not as reactions to occurrences, and not always with a view to address the root causes. For example, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was constituted only in the mid-1990s; till then, national security issues were being handled by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) in addition to its various other wide ranging responsibilities. A major review of the management of national security was undertaken after the Kargil conflict of 1999 when the Kargil Review Committee (KRC), headed by the late K. Subrahmanyam, was appointed. The committee made several far-reaching recommendations on the development of India’s nuclear deterrence, management of national security, intelligence reforms, border management, the defence budget, use of air power, counter-insurgency operations, integrated manpower policy, defence research and development (R&D), and even media relations. Subsequently, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) appointed a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister L.K. Advani to study the KRC report and recommend measures for its viii Defence Reforms implementation. The GoM set up four task forces on intelligence reforms, internal security, border management, and higher defence management to undertake in-depth analyses of various facets of national security management. Based on the reports of these task forces, the GoM recommended sweeping reforms to the existing national security management system. The CCS accepted its recommendations in toto, except for that which recommended the creation of the post of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). While a large number of the recommendations that were approved by the CCS have been implemented, action on a few important ones has still not been taken. In 2016-17, the Military Centre of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, undertook a research project to review the status of the defence reforms approved by the Vajpayee government after the Kargil conflict of 1999, with a view to recommending additional reforms that should be undertaken to improve functional efficiency. The major issues examined included the measures necessary to streamline defence planning; methods for optimising the defence budget; the ways and means for restructuring the MoD and the Services HQ to ensure smoother decision making and better integration; procedures for improving inter-ministerial coordination; and, other related issues. The Military Centre organised a series of round-table discussions as part of the project, focussing especially on restructuring at the apex level, optimum utilisation of the defence budget, intelligence reforms, and inter- departmental coordination. Leading practitioners and government officials, both serving and retired, were invited to make presentations to the members of the Centre on the reforms recommended in their specific fields of expertise. The Military Centre also held in-house discussions on all aspects of defence planning and the reforms necessary to synergise decision making and improve the interface between the civilian bureaucracy and the armed forces. Eminent analysts were requested to examine key issues hampering the smooth management of national security and contribute short papers on their areas of expertise. While conceptualising the project, it was decided to deal with the issues at the macro level. Based on the round-table discussions that followed, the papers were revised by the authors and have been compiled for publication in this anthology. The idea is to bring to the attention of not just the informed reader but also the wider public that pending defence reforms need to be undertaken urgently. It is also an attempt to engage with, and simultaneously inform, an interested readership on the intricacies of managing the complexities of national security in India. Preface ix Defence reforms are a vast and complex issue, and this compilation is by no means fully comprehensive. The Editors concede that it has not been possible to address many less important facets, despite the endeavour to speak to a wider audience, owing to limitations of time and space. The Editors would like to thank Shri Jayant Prasad, Director General, IDSA, for his unstinting support to the project since its inception. Thanks also to Maj Gen Alok Deb (Retd.), Deputy Director General, IDSA, his predecessor Brig Rumel Dahiya (Retd.) and all the members of IDSA’s Military Centre for their contribution to the project at several brainstorming sessions and their diligent reviews of the papers. Thanks are also due to the editorial team and, in particular to Natallia Khaniejo for her excellent and painstaking editing, and to Vivek Kaushik for his help in timely publication of this work. Brig Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd.) Distinguished Fellow, IDSA Neha Kohli Associate Editor Journal of Defence Studies IDSA 7 February 2018 About the Authors Laxman Kumar Behera is Research Fellow at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. His areas of specialisation include defence industry, arms spending and defence procurement. Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia is Director, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), New Delhi. He is a former DGMO and was a member of the Sheketkar committee on Enhancing Combat Capability and Rebalancing the Defence Budget. R. Chandrashekhar is a former member of the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service. He is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), New Delhi, and the author of Rooks and Knights: Civil Military Relations in India (2016). Dr Monika Chansoria, presently a Senior Visiting Fellow at The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Tokyo, is Senior Fellow and Head of the China-study programme at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi. She has authored five books on Asian security issues the latest of which is China, Japan, and Senkaku Islands: Conflict in the East China Sea amid an American Shadow (2017). Amit Cowshish is a former Financial Advisor (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence. He has written extensively on defence expenditure and defence procurement. Lt Gen Kamal Davar, a veteran of the 1965 and 1971 wars, is former GOC Ladakh and Corps Commander in Punjab. He raised the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) as its first Director