The verdict of the Hon’ble Supreme Court is very positive. It was a review of an earlier decision in which all the papers related to the issues would have been examined. The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) has a provision for direct Government to Government transaction and there are plenty of examples in the past when an open tender process has been bypassed due to the urgency.
The DPP is exhaustive enough to ensure procurement in a time-efficient manner. Regrettably, the process is delayed due to debates from people who are unaware of the subject. Procurement is delayed at times, well beyond duration of the terms and conditions, by creating Committees of Inquiry. Such arguments have an adverse effect on the credibility of the nation.
While procedural delays are acceptable political and legal interventions or bureaucratic lethargy can cause untold harm to the operational preparedness. Case in point is the Rafale. The IAF had sent in a RFI in 2001, the RFP was issued only in 2007 after the Defence Acquisition Council approval. Then began the prolonged trials after which Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault’s Rafale remained in the fray. Rafale finally won the bid in 2011.
The Armed Forces follow procedures to the letter to ensure there are no glitches later to cause delays. At times the middle-men send anonymous letters alleging non-compliance of procedures. Delays thus caused create big issues for further procurements. No Artillery Gun was procured for almost three decades after the Bofors, why? The answer is easy, as no one wants a finger pointed at him for corruption leading to delay in decision for trivial reasons. But has anyone ever thought that who suffers the most? It is the Armed Forces.
We have a hostile neighbourhood where two adversaries do not want to see India flourishing. Although, we will not face a two-front conflict but we have to be prepared for the contingency. Pakistan will continue to focus on Kashmir, notwithstanding the lack of world support. China wants to contain Indian influence in the region, and has supported Pakistan in the latter’s recent forays into international forums, much to its dismay when all nations supported India. We may not have a full-blown conflict with either, but continuous irritants by Pakistan will necessitate the operational preparedness on the Western Front. There are enough CBMs with China but the odd border skirmish does take place, luckily resolved peacefully. Military support from China to Pakistan will continue.
The Rafale jets will be a game-changer with their weaponry and avionics, and both China and Pakistan will think twice before attempting any misadventure.
Political slugfest and bureaucratic lethargy takes a toll on operational efficiency. Notwithstanding the discordant voices, we have previous instances where we inducted the Jaguar, Mirage 2000 and the SU 30s all thanks to those who understood the need and pushed for decisions against odds. As a nation we must debate, but not endlessly, without any accountability to the nation.