Wanted – Chief of Defense Staff for India
Neelam Mathews April 1, 2015 No it is not an April Fools Day joke. India needs a CDS and fast. Alongwith the change in the new government that has promised a lot and not as yet delivered fully, let’s face facts. Cash isn’t exactly flowing from the tap. We need efficiencies in our system that come from commonality. Why not take a leaf out of Spain’s experience that has a CDS for four decades whose duties have evolved with changing times. Today, after drawing out a plan that includes threat perceptions for the next decade, a plan is charted out by the services that discuss equipment procurement, and commonality. Procurement is given to one supplier getting the country the best deal from economies of scale. Maintenance, whether it be weapons, too is shared. This gets me wondering about our petty issues that reminds one of two boys squabbling on who will fly the Apache. “Me!!! says the IAF…No Me, says the Army.” In retrospect, how insular can we be. Is this really in ...