March 8, 1999
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ARMS DEALS The Ghost of Bofors The scandal's baleful effect has starved the armed forces of worth Rs 25,000 crore as wary bureaucrats dither on decisions. By Manoj Joshi
The 1991 fiscal crisis gave the government an opportunity to formalise the paralysis in decision-making by scrapping the Eighth Defence Five Year Plan and thus aborting the armed forces' fourth re-equipment cycle. Expectations were that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) would pick up the slack. But the DRDO's ambitious projects have turned out to be a damp squib. Akash and Trishul surface-to-air missiles are yet to complete user trials and even the Arjun Main Battle Tank has not been able to inspire the confidence of the army. The light combat aircraft project's future is now clouded by the US sanctions following Pokhran II. Meanwhile, the services are taking out insurance policies by shopping for Russian tanks, SAMs, fighters and other weapons systems. But the forces' complaint, as a serving service chief puts it, "is while the money comes in, no decisions are ever made". He readily accepts that armed forces personnel involved in acquisitions too have been affected by the Bofors' scare and have played a role in slowing down the procurement process. Fernandes seems determined to break the "procedural" bottleneck. In a major decision, he has written to the Finance Ministry to hand over charge of the revenue element of the armed forces budget to the respective service chief. This comprises nearly 70-75 per cent of the defence budget and covers pay and allowances as well as spares, warstores, maintenance of facilities and repairs and refits. Fernandes has also promised quick decisions on acquisitions such as the AJT as well as additional capital outlays to the three services, especially the army, for buying hardware and making up for lost time. As it is, the army is expecting an additional Rs 600 crore in exchange for reducing its numbers by 50,000 last year. But till the ghost of Bofors is laid to rest, particularly within the decision-making echelons, nothing is likely to go forward. Such an unhappy situation will continue to impose costs on the country. While lack of modernisation affects the combat readiness of the forces, postponing decisions only raises their eventual cost to the tax-payer. The one reason why the BJP-led Government is well-positioned to break this cycle is that neither it nor the other non-Congress parties which formed governments since 1996 have been charged of taking bribes like the Congress. This not withstanding the 1996 Su-30MKI deal worth Rs 6,500 crore and a Rs 4,200 crore deal for ships for the navy signed in 1997 when a non-Congress government ruled at the Centre. Stray allegations have been made about the purchases but nothing of substance has yet been established. Exorcising the demon is not easy since everyone has contributed to its malevolent visitation-the government that made the unrealistic "no agent" rule and then violated it, the media that raised dozens of empty scare stories, the public for its indifference to defence matters and a Parliament that does not exercise its overseeing role. A study by R.P. Singh for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has suggested that Parliament and government devise ground rules to balance the needs of confidentiality with the information needed for effective overseeing and accountability. This could well be like journeying to the moon. But then, every journey begins with small steps. What's on Hold GORSHKOV Why we need It The Stumbling Block What's on Hold 155MM TOWED/SP ARTILLERY Why we need It The Stumbling Block What's on Hold MIRAGE 2000 Why we need It The Stumbling Block What's on Hold A-50 AWACS AIRCRAFT Why we need It The Stumbling Block What's on Hold ADVANCED JET TRAINERS Why we need It The Stumbling Block What's on Hold S-300 PMU-1 BATTERIES Why we need It The Stumbling Block What's on Hold T-90 TANKS Why we need It The Stumbling Block What's on Hold KRIVAK CLASS CRUISERS Why we need It The Stumbling Block |
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There is a spectre hanging over the
defence-procurement process of the country-a spectre called "Bofors". Ever since
the bribes scandal surrounding the Rs 1,500 crore deal broke and poisoned the Rajiv Gandhi
administration, the modernisation plans of the armed forces have ground to a virtual halt.
Defence Minister George Fernandes, who now confronts a cumulative armed forces
requirement-the shortlist runs to Rs 25,000 crore-agrees that there is a "gap between
needs and availability" and concedes that "Bofors has left attitudinal
problems" within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). In other words, the scandal still
haunts the ministry. 
From the day the issue
exploded 12 years ago, all the three services have been hit and the country's preparedness
seriously affected. After getting 400 Bofors guns, the deal entered a phantom zone and
some thousand more towed and self-propelled guns needed to provide firepower for the army
have yet to come through. The advanced jet trainer (AJT) to teach rookie pilots to fly
fighters entered a time warp where it is still stuck, 14 years after the Indian Air Force
(IAF) began its search. The army's plans to replace the ageing Vijayanta tanks and acquire
dozens of newer weapons and systems such as battlefield surveillance radars and modern air
defence missiles remain halted on their tracks. The navy, affected by an associated
scandal relating to payment of commissions for the acquisition of four HDW Class 209
submarines, has not been able to go ahead with its submarine-construction project and
effectively utilise the facilities it had constructed at great cost at Mumbai's Mazgaon
Docks' east yard. 
