‘Utilisation, prioritisation the new defence mantras’

NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has done enough to address issues with the preparedness and priorities of the military, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview on Monday.

“Absolutely,” was her response to a question on whether she is satisfied with the preparedness of the military. The NDA government has made sure that the defence forces are utilising what has been allocated to them in the budget, something that wasn’t previously the case because of “policy paralysis”, she added.

There has been criticism of the NDA government that the current allocation to defence in the budget, expressed as a proportion of GDP, is the lowest it has been in over five decades.

In her first interview to mainstream media after taking over as defence minister last year, Sitharaman said this proportion has to be seen in context. “What was the GDP in 1962, and what is it today?” she asked, pointing to recent World Bank data that shows that India has overtaken France to become the sixth-largest economy in the world with a GDP of $2.59 trillion.

The defence minister sought to nuance the discussion beyond just money. “Utilisation is the first measure I want you to look at,” she said, adding that the defence forces are now fully utilising the money allocated to them.

› Utilisation is the first measure to look at… Critical ammunition, things needed for preparedness, is being prioritised. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN

Prioritisation was another measure, according to her. “Critical ammunition, things you need for preparedness, is being prioritised.”

She said that this is one reason the government “decided to give power to the vice chiefs” to procure ammunition under the “revenue route” with “revenue allocations being made” for this. Even in terms of capital expenditure, prioritisation was the key, Sitharaman said. “We are also talking about – resources being what they are – the kind of priorities (we have); which priority takes precedence?”

She defended her government’s position on not sharing pricing details of the Rafale fighters being bought through an intergovernmental deal with France, saying this would expose India’s “readiness, fitness, and potency” and that previous governments, including the UPA, have similarly not shared details on key defence deals in the interests of national security.

Heavily dependent on imports for arms and ammunition, the Narendra Modi government has sought to build India’s indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities under the Make in India route. Sitharaman said that state-owned defence equipment makers have made significant progress. “In missiles and missile-related matters we have progressed so much that we are the envy of so many countries.” And in shipbuilding, private and state-owned shipbuilders have ensured that India now has the capability to produce “any kind of vessel needed for coastal or deep-sea activity,” she added.

Even Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s much delayed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft programme is a success because the aircraft has been “tested and appreciated” by many people, but the problem is that “we don’t produce as much as we want,” she said, adding, the ministry is working with HAL on ways to boost capacity – within HAL, and “with the help of HAL, elsewhere”.

Also one of her party’s most articulate spokespersons, Sitharaman said PM Modi would return to power. She described the 2019 elections as a fight between “a 24x7, transparent, absolutely devoid of corruption government where questions are answered, versus a formation which is yet to happen”.