Commentaries & Articles
Army Modernisation is Gathering Momentum

Defence planning in India has been marked by knee jerk reactions to emerging situations and haphazard single-Service growth. The absence of a clearly enunciated national security strategy, the failure to commit funds for weapons and equipment acquisi....

The Indian Navy: Trendsetter in Indigenisation

Preceding Prime Minister Modi’s contemporary clarion call of ‘Make-in-India’ by half a century, the indigenisation drive first launched by the Indian Navy in the 1960s has, over time, matured into a success story worthy of....

Defence Procurement: Learning from Experience

On May 1, 2015, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, appointed a 10-member committee headed by former Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh, to review the defence procurement policies and procedures and to recommend fresh guidelines with a view to implementin....

Dissecting China’s White Papers on Defence: An Indian Perspective

Since 1998 China has been taking out white papers on defence regularly as part of its exercise in military transparency. While such an exercise does have inherent limitations in terms of what it can reveal and what it should conceal yet it serves as ....

The Trajectory of India’s Nuclear Deterrence since May 1998

India conducted five nuclear tests over two days on May 11 and 13, 1998, and declared itself a state armed with nuclear weapons. Since then, India’s nuclear deterrence has been effectively operationalised. With a pacifist strategic culture steeped ....

A Bold Political Decision for a Crucial Defence Need

The saga for procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (M-MRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) actually began in 2001, gathered steam in 2007 and was stuck in price negotiations for the past three years. Meanwhile, the IAF's combat figh....

Proxy War – Are We Fighting at Enemy's Terms?

The Indian Army has a proud record of achievements – both in peace and war. Political leaders, government officialdom and people – all have absolute confidence in the Army as is evident from their eagerness to call for the military help in any ev....

Defence Budget 2015-16: Urgent Action is needed to Boost Modernisation

While inaugurating the biennial air show Aero-India 2015 at Bengaluru on February 18th, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India did not like being labelled the world’s largest importer of weapons systems. With less than ten days left for the ....

Modi’s Prescription for Rejuvenating DRDO should be Taken Seriously

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has left none in doubt that his commitment to the Indian defence self-reliance is “unquestionable and uncompromising”. Modi was right in his criticism of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRD....

India-Vietnam Defence Relations and Strengthening of Strategic Partnership

Introduction India and Vietnam have been friends from time immemorial. The year 2014 was a landmark in Indo-Vietnam strategic partnership. The Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi views Vietnam as an essential partner of its Act East ....

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