Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 10

Almost 17 years after the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) spoke about integration of the armed forces personnel with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the ministry now wants subject experts from the three services on crucial posts presently manned by the bureaucracy.

This is part of the ongoing integration-cum-restructuring exercise in the MoD. The exercise has four clear dimensions—right-sizing of manpower to cut down growing costs of salaries and pensions; integrating the services with the MoD; speeding up procurement of new weapons and balancing the budget to provide more for firepower.

Sources said an internal committee of the MoD today submitted its observations on what all could be implemented towards right-sizing suggested by the high-powered Lt Gen DB Committee. A report of the Shekatkar committee was submitted to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on December 21 last year. It talks about enhancing the combat potential of the armed forces and re-balancing the defence expenditure.

It has recommended a series of measures to trim, redeploy and integrate manpower under the MoD to have an effective military. The committee has laid down a path to reduce expenses by Rs 25,000 crore over the next five-years.

For integration of the services, the MoD has identified several posts at the middle level in the ministry that can be manned by officers from the three armed forces—the Army, the IAF and the Navy. “These people will be subject and domain experts on equipment,” said a senior functionary.

On speeding up procurement, yesterday a committee headed by Dr Pritam Singh (former Director IIM-Lucknow) submitted its report on setting up of a defence procurement organisation. This will shorten the lengthy procurement process that takes years to identify what all is needed.