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 It
is our endeavour to address the relatively more
important aspects of the acquisition process in
the ten working sessions planned for the seminar.
Inevitably, the perceived need for an intensely
professional debate and reforms in this capability
acquisition task of the Indian MOD and the Defence
Services has influenced the structuring and content
of each of the sessions.
India is poised to acquire a wide range of weapon
platforms, sensors and armaments in the quest
for a balanced capability acquisition drive in
the years ahead. Its capital acquisition outlays
have grown by an average of around 19% per annum
between 1998-99 till 2010-11. Based on a realistic
15 % future annual growth, India is likely to
spend an aggregate of over $235 billion on acquisitions
over the next 10 years till 2020-2021. Consequently,
it is critical to holistically address the full
range of challenges and opportunities in areas
such as cost efficient formulation of qualitative
requirement, compressing the time frame for technical
and commercial evaluation, bringing to bear project
management efficiencies into both pre and post
contract phases, factoring in life cycle costs
and bench marking prices in the evaluation process
and seeking to evolve an optimal procedural framework.
Equally compelling is the attention required
to be paid to logistics supply chain management
efficiencies including the concept of performance
based logistics, significant policy correctives
for securing the transformational benefits of
a well directed, leveraged and prioritised offset
investment inflows regime and, most importantly,
focusing all our energies on creating a strong
defence industrial base in the country with much
needed synergies among Defence PSUs , Ordnance
Factories, DRDO and the Defence Services on the
other hand and Tier 1 to 3 private sector entities
and premiere Indian Institutions of science and
engineering on the other. It is abundantly clear
that at this juncture India needs several strategic
partnerships, two and three way joint ventures
and technical collaborations among Indian Public
and Private sector enterprises and the most well
endowed defence R & D and production entities
worldwide. The emphasis here should of course
be on critical value addition with major system
integration responsibilities being taken on by
Tier I entities and manufacture of sub systems,
major assemblies and components assigned to a
reliable supply chain of Tier 2 & Tier 3 enterprises.
Reformswould also seem well merited by way of
dismantling the licensing regime in defence as
well as enhancing the foreign equity ceiling in
joint ventures from the current 26 % to 49 % across
the board and even higher on a case to case basis
for a quantum jump in investment and technology
inflows and for nurturing long term strategic
partnerships. Optimal exploitation of the systems
under acquisition also demands a simultaneous
fillip to defence infrastructure development effort.
The real challenge of course is in promoting innovative
defence R & D in India comprising both pure and
applied sciences to be undertaken in a cohesive
, sustained and purposeful manner among the nation’s
premiere scientific institutions and defence manufacturing
organizations. Another key task in the acquisition
realm is the exploration of the full ICT potential
of the country spanning creation and analysis
of pricing and maintenance data bases, an appropriate
MIS for focused monitoring of the major acquisition
tasks, plan implementation, project management
usages, readiness level assessments, offsets monitoring
and the like.
In conclusion, I would like to mention that
we propose to bring out the seminar proceedings
including various papers contributed by 37 authors
in the form of an edited volume. We also expect
to highlight for potential use by the Ministry
of Defence, the HQIDS and the Services HQs, all
the key recommendations and suggestions for acquisition
sector reforms. We do believe that it would be
possible to bring out a six monthly journal dedicated
to acquisition issues as well as statistical information
in the acquisition realm in India and elsewhere.
It is also our fervent hope that MOD would consider
seriously the need for establishing a dedicated
Acquisition Institute with necessary specialisations
for the lasting benefit of all the stake holders
and practitioners in this vital area of work.
We would also like to create an exclusive website
devoted to news, data, analysis and commentaries
concerning defence acquisition which could display
contributions from all over the world in an organized
and user friendly format.
Finally, our heartfelt gratitude to the Honorable
Defence Minister for his presence and the sense
of the purpose and professional focus, it accords
to the deliberations here over the 3 day period.
A very warm welcome to all of you once again
and wishing you an intellectually stimulating
time ahead.
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