Friday, March 27, 2015

Book Chapter: The Skewed Balance: Technologists' Dominance in India's Military Modernization


Bibhu Prasad Routray

in Rajesh Basrur & Bharath Gopalaswamy, eds. "India's Military Modernization", Oxford University Press, 2015 pp. 38-66.

1st Paragraph

After six and half decades of India's independent existence, the country's arms acquisition and technology absorption process remains overly skewed, tilted decisively in favour of the civilian technologists and undermining the preferences of the armed forces. A mishmash of policies promoting autarky, distrust of the military, and the avowed objective of building an indigenous technology base and establishing self-reliance in military preparedness, has prevented the graduation from a distorted acquisition process to a structured one. Largely in the name of self-reliance, the technologists continue to reign over a regime that is known for its delays and cost over-runs rather than for providing an efficient system of delivery. Belated attempts have been made to restore order in the overall state of affairs. However, the success of the technologists belonging to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India's primary military Research and Development (R&D) agency, in one arena– that of missile technology and missile defence – perpetuate this distortion in the system as a whole. 

http://www.amazon.in/Indias-Military-Modernization-Technologies-International/dp/0199451621

No comments: