By Arsh Rampal
A Times of India report has revealed that a major deal regarding minesweeper warships under Make in India has been cancelled by the Government. This is a major setback not only to the development of defence systems in the country but also to the Make in India campaign. The Modi government has as of yet failed to break a successful deal in the defence sector under Make in India and it can have a major impact upon the status and ability of the Indian military to defend the nation in the present circumstances as tensions continue to mount between India, China and Pakistan.
The Minesweeper Deal 350
Mine counter-measure vessels (MCMVs) or Advanced minesweepers are around 900-tonne specialised warships that can detect, track and destroy underwater mines laid by enemy forces to choke harbours and offshore installations, disrupt shipping and maritime trade. It combines the role of a minesweeper and minehunter in one hull. India had a deal with South Korea to build 12 advanced minesweepers. The project was estimated to start in 2018 with the delivery of the 12 minesweepers starting in 2021. The project was part of Prime Minister Modis Make in India program and was worth ?32,000 crores. The minesweepers were to be built at the Goa Shipyard. The entire process will start again with a fresh request for proposal (RFP) or tender will follow for that.
The deal has reportedly broken off as the South Korean company wanted changes in the original RFP. There were also some ToT (transfer of technology), build strategy and cost problems. It is not the first time that Kangnam, the company with which the deal was made, has come under the scanner of the Indian government. The government has previously scrapped a similar contract with the company upon corruption allegations in 2014.
The Indian navy needs nearly 24 minesweepers along its coastline to properly protect the Indian coastline. India lacks behind that number by a huge margin. The Indian Navy has recently decommissioned two of its oldest minesweepers, the INS Karwar and INS Kakinada after 30 years in service. The navy is now left with a fleet of four minesweeping ships.
Make In India a failure to date
Currently, to date, no major Make in India defence project has kicked off. The Modi government has failed to give the defence sector the push it needs. The defence projects under Make in India have failed to materialise due to lack of political push, bureaucratic bottlenecks and long procedures and differences between the government and the companies regarding technical details of the project.
Apart from the MCMV project Indias project with Russia to co-develop and coproduce an Indian variant of its Sukhoi T-50 fighter has also slowed down after the Indian Air Force raised doubts regarding its stealth capabilities, engine performance, high cost and delivery time-frame. The final production and R&D contract has not been finalised as of now.
Several projects collectively worth over Rs. 3.5 lakh crore are stuck at different stages without the project materialising. Apart from MCMVs, future infantry combat vehicles (FICVs), light utility helicopters and Naval multi-role choppers along with fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA). The issue of logjams with regards to defence projects started when Manohar Parrikar was the Defence Minister and were inherited later by Arun Jaitley and now Nirmala Sitharaman.
Need for an upgrade in Indias defences
India has continuously for the past few years been one of the highest importers of arms. Indias arms import between 2012 and 2016 accounted for 13 percent of global arms imports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has several times emphasised upon the need for reduction of arms imports to India. The Cabinet has repeatedly talked about the need for domestic defence manufacturing and that the Indian Military should have more local components in its military equipment.
It is extremely crucial for India to focus on strengthening the military at a time when China is turning slightly aggressive. There have been multiple reports of sighting of Chinese ships being deployed in the Indian Ocean. In order to tackle the rising presence of Chinese Military in the area, it is important that the strength of the Indian Navy is not compromised upon however with the current failure of the MCMV deal, a huge blow has been dealt with the Indian Navy. The present 4 Soviet-built minesweepers with the Indian Navy are also to be decommissioned by the end of 2018 and thus India will be lacking a major defence tool to guard its coastline. The Air Force and the Army face similar issues and in a few years, India will lack the major equipment needed to defend itself with an increase in hostility. In order to meet the demand for newer equipment, the Modi Government needs to sign and bring into effect more defence deals. Even if these projects are to start immediately it will take at least 2 to 3 years for any production to take place of military equipment and thus it seems that Indias military will be at a massive technological disadvantage for the next few years.
The Modi governments keenness to improve Indias military seems to be only on paper. The large strength of the Indian Military in itself cannot by itself be sufficient to defend the nation without proper technology at its disposal. The Modi Government needs to focus upon ensuring that defence deals under the Make in India project do not collapse, not just for the success of the Make in India scheme but for properly securing the nation as well. Until the time this is done by the government the security of the nation is likely to get jeopardized.
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