Q. Given the transition of technologies in conducting warfare, how us coping with the changing times and promoting the private and public sector to enhance our capabilities? What are the new innovations taking place in this sector?

Replied by Naval Jagota

In order to invent systems for future wars there needs to be an articulation of the future wars by the users as well as policy makers. These articulations are based upon the present technological and manufacturing development capabilities as well as potential of the industry in that country or in a group of countries. The technologies invented and then developed are founded on either specific adversarial military hardware or generically on capabilities and capacities which are required to be addressedto cater to multiple larger threats. Each invention and subsequent commercial development requires robustness as well as good supply side eco system. The ..

Q. China is proceeding with a concrete plan to develop their indigenous Operating System which is aimed to be used in all government offices. They have devised a plan called "5 2 3 plan" . What is the opinion of VIF on this and the road map planned by India on this aspect. Also, DRDO based labs like ANURAG, CAIR and C DAC could be used for developing a OS. Kindly provide your views on the roadmap / strategy that India should follow to ensure cyber security through Make in India.

Replied by Brig Rahul Bhonsle

Reports of the Chinese Communist party’s Central Office having issued a directive for replacing all hardware and software in government offices with indigenously developed substitutes emerged in December last year. [Please refer to Financial Times link https://www.ft.com/content/b55fc6ee-1787-11ea-8d73-6303645ac406]. The directive has been nicknamed 3-5-2 [Not 5 – 2 – 3 as you have indicated unless you are referring to some different issue]. The nickname arises from the directive which gives targets for replacement as 30% of foreign hardware and software in 2020, 50% in 2021 and 20% in 2022. This is in conformity with the country’s Cyb..

Q. What are major threats to China's economy and their potential impact on China's political stability?

Replied by Dr Teshu Singh

In January 2018, Liu He (Vice Premier of China) while speaking at the World Economic Forum had mentioned about the ‘Three Critical Battles’. They are; preventing and resolving the major risks, conducting targeted poverty reduction and controlling pollution. The other threats to the Chinese economy are a middle-income trap, declining demographic dividend, US-China trade dispute and reshaping the Chinese economy post-COVID-19. China is the second-largest economy, the largest exporter and has the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world. In 2019, the economic growth of China has gone down, it was 6.1 per cent against 6.8 per cent in 2018. The C..

Will DRDO and HAL will be able to deliver a 5th generation fighter jet? i.e AMCA on time or our Indian Air Force will be forced to buy a foreign fighter.

Replied by Naval Jagota

The IAF is down to 30 fighter squadrons, against the assessed requirement of 42 squadrons. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria’s plan, unveiled in an interaction with the media inOctober 2019, will only raise numbers to 37 squadrons by 2025, before falling again to 33 squadrons by 2032. The IAF has ordered 40 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark I aircraft [20 in Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) and 20 in Final Operation Clearance (FOC) version with 16 fighters & 4 trainers in each]. The production of 16 fighters in IOC has been completed in March, 2019 and the production of 16 fighters in FOC and 8 trainers is underway in HAL. The first aircraft in FOC fl..