News Analysis India

Tag: MM Naravane

  • Disengagement win-win situation for India and China: Army chief Gen MM Naravane

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The disengagement of armies of India and China from north and south banks of Pangong Tso is a “very good end result” and a win-win situation for both the sides, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Wednesday, stressing that there are strategies in place to address other pending issues in eastern Ladakh.

    He said there were no signs of an “overt collusion” between China and Pakistan during the Ladakh standoff but India also caters to a long-term strategy for not a two, but a two-and-half front war.

    With the half front, he was referring to internal security.

    He said right from the beginning of the standoff, all sides on the Indian side worked together.

    Be it at the political level, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to their Chinese counterparts, he said.

    “We were all in it together. We had our plan chalked out which we had discussed on what should be the way forward. Whatever has panned out, has happened as a result of that.

    ALSO READ | Accepting casualties in Galwan Valley clash, China blames India for face-off in June 2020

    What we have achieved so far is very good,” Naravane said at a webinar organised by Vivekanada International Foundation.

    The advice which was given by National Security Adviser also came in extremely handy and his insight into strategic level affairs definitely helped us chalking out the response, the Army chief said.

    “As a result of this whole approach, this disengagement has taken place. I think it is a very good end result. It is a win-win situation. For any agreement to last, both sides should feel that they have achieved something. I think a good outcome that has resulted out of the 10 rounds of talks which have taken place so far,” he said.

    Last week, armies of the two countries concluded withdrawal of troops and weapons from north and south banks of Pangong Tso in the high-altitude region.

    Naravane said there are some issues which remain in the area of Depsang, in the area of eastern Ladakh and in other areas along northern border.

    “But we have our strategies in place for that. Do we have anything to negotiate in future? Yes, definitely we have. But I would not, of course, for obvious reasons, what those strategies would be to further and progress our negotiations and come out with a favourable outcome.”

  • Revolution in bureaucratic affairs needed to bring Defence modernisation, says Army Chief

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Ruing about the protracted process and the slow pace of modernisation of the Indian Army General MM Naravane said on Thursday that the Defence Modernisation is held hostage to focus on following procedures instead of procuring the relevant product.

    Revolution in bureaucratic affairs (RBA) will realize the vision of self-reliance, said Chief.Speaking at webinar on 25 years of Army-industry partnership, Army Chief General MM Naravane said, “We are not being able to fast track the process of acquisition. It is because we have tried to cater for every contingency and every loophole. This results is acquisition process getting tied up in knots. To that end what has happened is that the process and procedures, rather than the product, have become paramount and these are holding hostage the Defence modernisation.”Army Chief spoke candidly on the gaps plaguing acquisition. “There are certain inherent procedural lacuna that have crept into the acquisition process which inherently arise due to the overbearing nature of our rules, regulations and guidelines in trying to ensure zero error. This is also aggravated by our own interpretation of rules.”

    Illustrating the point, Army Chief gave example of the Ski and Spikes to underline that at times the Qualitative Requirements (QR) we set for the equipment and the consequent overpromise it draws from the vendors complicates it further.

    “Combining both is a set of QRs become undeliverable. These then require a reset from time to time when a lot of effort and resources have been spent in trying to achieve them,” the Chief added.

    For example, QRs were formulated for ski to be used in mountainous terrain to weigh between 2 and 5 kilos. When a vendor offered ultra-light ski weighing 1.6 kilos, it was rejected at the DAC stage. Similarly, Pungi Spikes which are essentially sharp pointed spikes. Its weight was found to be 6 kilos but it was rejected because the QR said between 3 and 5 kilosCalling indigenous defence production as must for maintaining strategic influence and freedom of action General Naravane said revolution in bureaucratic affairs is the need of the time.

    “Here I wish to underscore that in order to complement the revolution in military affairs, we also need revolution in bureaucratic affairs to realize the vision of self-reliance.” India must enhance indigenous defence capabilities to maintain strategic influence and freedom of action as external dependence for weapons creates vulnerabilities in times of crisis. Gen Naravane talked about twin challenges of Covid-19 pandemic and the “belligerence” on the northern borders last year. “India is now a rising regional global power in Asia, more particularly in South Asia. As we rise in our stature and influence, we will face increasingly higher security challenges,” the Army chief said. Referring to ongoing border standoff in eastern Ladakh with China, Gen Naravane said that a continuous and concerted capability building of the Army through modernisation to address the security challenges is a national imperative. “Considering the quick pace of defence modernisation being undertaken by our adversaries, we are lagging behind slightly. Continuous and heavy dependence of Indian armed forces on equipment of foreign origin needs to be addressed through indigenous capability development,” he said. “The defence industry is a big enabler for self reliance and capability building and it is a prerequisite to maintain our strategic influence and freedom of action,” the chief said

  • Don’t test Indian Army’s patience: Gen MM Naravane sends clear message to China, Pakistan

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a strongly worded message to China and Pakistan, Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said that no one should try to test the military’s patience with regard to defending the country’s borders.

    “We are committed to finding the resolution of our disputes through discussions and political efforts but no one should commit the mistake of testing our patience,” he said in an address at the Army Day parade in Delhi’s Cariappa Parade ground.

    While there is palpable tension with China along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, with armies of the two countries deployed in standoff position, Pakistan is resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and is resorting to a proxy war in Kashmir.

    Naravane assured the countrymen that the sacrifice of soldiers in Galwan Valley will not go in vain. 

    In May last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army unilaterally tried to change the status quo at multiple locations along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

    On June 15, 2020, violent clashes took place which led to casualties on both sides.

    While 20 Indian soldiers were martyred, China did not make its count public despite admitting to casualties. 

    Naravane also said that the army had eliminated over 200 terrorists in Kashmir in the last year alone. 

    “Around 300-400 terrorists are waiting in training camps near the border to infiltrate into the Indian territory. Number of ceasefire violations went up by 44 per cent last year, which shows the nefarious intentions of Pakistan,” he said.

    Talking about the insurgency in the Northeast, the Army Chief said there has been some improvement on that front.

    “Over 600 terrorists have surrendered and seized a large of cache of arms and ammunition. With the help of the Myanmar Army, we conducted operations and got huge success,” Naravane said.

    Naravane also talked about the challenges surrounding the modernisation process and said there have been Capital procurements and steps have also been taken to develop future military technologies.

    “We have procured arms and ammunition worth Rs 5,000 crore under emergency and fast track schemes and under capital procurement, we have signed contracts of Rs 13,000 crore this year,” he added.

    Works on new-age technologies like Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, unmanned systems, directed energy weapons, and swarm drones are continuing in collaboration with the institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)

    Indian Army has identified 29 projects worth Rs 32,000 crore for its modernisation initiative as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.