The Hindu : National : "No escape from defence modernisation capabilities"

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Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006
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National

"No escape from defence modernisation capabilities"

Special Correspondent

Pranab defends quest to develop indigenous R&D

— PHOTO: AFP

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee lights a traditional lamp at the inauguration of an international seminar on Defence Finance and Economics by the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI: With global expenditure on defence crossing the $ 1,000 billon mark, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday regretted that that the end of cold war had failed to dampen global defence spending.

"Even a fraction of the money that the world spends on defence could make a difference to the lives of millions of people across the world who live in abject poverty and suffer from deprivation of survival needs. The irony, however, is that the increasing defence outlays are becoming necessary for the safety of those very people, as also of those who do not suffer from similar denial," he said at the inauguration of an international seminar on defence finance and economics organised by the Ministry of Defence here.

Noting that defence outlays fall short of the expectations of defence planners whatever be the state of military capability, he advocated the need to strike a balance between these two contradictory positions. With threats to the ecological system, sources of energy supply and trade and commerce emerging as new security concerns, nations have to prepare for new demands on their resources. Besides, even if wars were limited in duration, these will be more ferocious than ever before, thereby nullifying any advantage from the limited duration of future wars.

"In view of this new global dimension of the security scenario, any meaningful strategy has to rest on diplomacy, economic development and defence capabilities. You could acquire all the military capabilities that the world can offer and consider yourself absolutely invincible. But that would only be a delusion. Technological superiority is no guarantee of invincibility as the recent events the world over have so amply demonstrated."

As the challenge of modern warfare cannot be met with outdated technologies, there is no escape from modernisation of defence capabilities. What is required, however, is a close look at the options that blend economic sense and military sensibility.

In this context, Mr. Mukherjee defended the country's quest to develop indigenous defence R&D and production. In addition to reducing reliance on uncertain sources of supply, it would give a fillip to economy because of the spin-offs from investments in R&D and indigenisation.

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram asked defence public sector units to improve competitiveness as "the argument that the Government in all circumstances must support loss making undertakings or inefficient ordnance factories because of their strategic importance or surge capacities is difficult to sustain in a world with many more efficient alternatives."

Minister of States for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju referred to the role played by IT in defence finance and economics and complimented Secretary, Defence Finance, Vinod Mishra for launching Mission Excel IT in Defence Finance. Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt said with military power moving into high technology and high cost arenas, careful planning and resource investment was required.

As defence spending takes away resources from alternative uses and channels them into the development of military capability, it is evident that economic analysis and reasoning can be applied, in multiple dimensions, to such expenditure.

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