Budget '19 dashed our hopes to modernise, says Army V-C

New Delhi: In a strong indictment of the inadequate budgetary allocation for the Indian Army, Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOS) Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand told the parliamentary panel on defence that Budget 2018-19 has “dashed” all hopes of modernisation of the force which is saddled with equipment of which more than two-third is “vintage”.

He added that the marginal increase in the budgetary allocation barely accounts for inflation, and the Army won’t be able to pay instalments of past purchases with the money it has received.

“Budget 2018-19 has dashed our hopes and most of what has been achieved has actually received a little setback,” Lt. Gen. Chand said while deposing before the parliamentary panel, and added that this may lead to foreclosure of 25 “Make in India” defence projects that are currently in the pipeline.

“The marginal increase in BE (Budget Estimates) barely accounts for the inflation and does not even cater for the taxes. Allocation of Rs 21,338 crore for modernisation is insufficient even to cater for committed payment of Rs 29,033 crore for 125 ongoing schemes, emergency procurements, and other DGOF requirements. Committed liabilities of 2017 which will also get passed on to 2018 will further accentuate the situation,” Lt. Gen. Chand said and added that after these payouts, there will “hardly leave any funds for new schemes in 2018-19.”  

The Army has been given Rs 17, 756 crore less than what it had requested for.

The parliamentary panel expressed alarm at VCOS’ statement, saying they were aghast to note the dismal scenario. Allocation for services has to be suitably enhanced, they said.

On the quality of equipment being used by the Army, the VCOS said, “The state today is 68 per cent of our equipment is in the vintage category, with just about 24 per cent in the current and 8 per cent in the state-of-art category.”

The acceptable ratio for any modern army is that one-third of the equipment should be in the vintage category, one third in the current category and one-third in the state-of-the-art category.

On the “Make in India” projects being pushed by the government, the VCOS said many projects may not be able to take off. “We in the Army have identified as many as 25 projects for Make in India. However, there is not adequate Budget to support this. As a result of which, many of these may end up foreclosed,” he said.

On the strategic partnership model which allows a foreign company to partner with an Indian company to make equipment like aircraft, submarines, ships and tanks, Lt. Gen. Chand said: “In the Army, we are looking forward to manufacturing the Future Ready Combat Vehicle, and Future Infantry Combat Vehicles through these schemes. However with the kind of budget that has been allocated, this may get delayed by a few years. I am not sure what is going to be their future.”