The Emergency Purchase Syndrome of Indian Military

The emergency purchase drive of the Indian Army is in full swing due to the escalated tensions with China on the eastern Ladakh front. The emergency purchase measures have brought in more Spike ATGM ( Anti Tank Guided Missile ) which were coincidentally purchased previously under the emergency purchase drive during the Balakot Strike. Special forces have also been equipped with SCAR 17 Assault rifles under these emergency purchase measures. These powers have been granted directly to military chiefs for an order value of up to 300 crore rupees. These special powers granted to Army Chief, help finalize equipment and place order quickly with deliveries commencing within one year. The whole process takes place at a rapid pace and no bureaucratic hurdles are allowed to hamper it, hence it has become an outlet for Army Top Brass to purchase the equipment that has been planned for years but never purchased for one reason or another. The third generation Spike ATGM purchase proposal was drafted few years ago but eventually got shelved in favor of indigenous missile development of NAG ATGM which is yet to be received by the army and our soldiers are still relying on second generation ATGM missiles like the French Milan and Russian Konkurs. The army purchased 250 Spike missiles and 12 launchers last year as a fast track emergency purchase to add capability to its outdated arsenal of Anti Tank Guided Missiles. 

Ministry of Defence and armed forces have been subject to harsh criticism for these emergency purchases as they reflect unpreparedness of the armed forces to deal with the present contingency. The most common questions being posed in social media circles is, why these purchases are being made now ? Why can't the ministry timely purchase these items ? Why everything has to be done last moment ? Why do we always end up making such purchases whenever there is a crises ?

These pertinent questions are disturbing but we need to reflect why these emergency purchase measures exist ? These measures completely cut the bureaucratic red tape and everything is done on a war footing. There are no doubts raised, no questions asked, no fingers pointed, no arms lobbying done and most importantly no scam stories raised. The Finance Ministry seizes to be apathetic to the defence forces and allots the funds seamlessly. The emergency purchase route is being used by the forces to get equipment which has been bogged down into files by endless procedures and cost over runs. The amount of time it takes just to negotiate the prices in a standard defence contract is probably more than it takes for a fast track procurement to materialize from an order to final delivery. The reason for the speedy deliveries is the small order size and equipment manufacturer's ability to deliver from their excess stock or a short production run. Its unfair to compare a large scale defence deal to a fast track emergency procurement but the important thing to note is that this process gets the work done.

The larger question is can we shorten the defence procurement procedure (DPP) as its commonly known by giving more power to the experienced Generals and less to the bureaucrats who know less about weapon systems than children know about their action figures. A 'Sarkari Babu' who has not fired a single rifle shot in his life but is part of rifle procurement for infantry can only contribute objections and hurdles to the process. The soldiers know their profession and equipment better than anyone else but giving them more powers will undermine the power of Babus and they will unleash their dirty tricks warfare. The most common objection to a shortened procurement procedure is the possibility of corruption in a deal, though its a valid concern but cost benefit analysis is needed to study the same. The cost over runs of a lengthy procurement procedure should be weighed against the loss suffered due to corruption. We are losing a hefty sum of money as cost over runs when a procurement runs into a procedure of a few years and the risk of an under equipped enemy that only strengthens the enemies resolve to play mischief at our borders. The Ministry of Defence needs dramatic reforms and vesting more powers to the armed forces ensures the politics around the defence deals does not play out to the extent it did in the Rafael deal. The soldiers who risk their lives for the nation will not mind putting their jobs at risk to get things done faster for the welfare of the defence forces and security of the nation.