The government has scrapped a 13-year-long procurement process for the 12 minesweepers warships, which are of critical importance.
There were also multiple other such unplanned high profile cancellation in the defence sector.
What are some cancellations?
Minesweeper Warships - These are vessels that are specialised to diffuse or safely remove explode underwater mines that target ships.
For years, the navy has been adjusting its operations with just six outdated Soviet-era minesweepers, of which two retired last year.
The current cancellation leaves a glaring hole in India’s maritime security until a new vendor is contracted, which might even take more than a decade.
MMRCA Cancellation - The cancellation of the tender for 126 “Medium multi-role combat aircraft” is another classical case.
This culmination in the unplanned procurement of 36 highly expensive Rafale fighters in flyaway condition from France’s “Dassault Aviation”.
Spike Anti-Tank Missile -The government recently cancelled the procurement of these missiles from the Israeli’s “Rafael Defence Systems”.
Black Shark Torpedoes –India’s first Scorpene submarine, INS Kalvari, was recently commissioned, but it didn’t have torpedoes (its primary weapon).
This was because of the cancellation of the contract for “Black Shark torpedoes” with Italian company “WASS”.
The cancellation was due to the corruption case involving “VVIP chopper” sales to India by Augusta Westland, which is a ‘sister concern’ of WASS.
Why do so many procurements fail?
Ambitious Requirements - the primary one is the flawed framing of qualitative requirements (QRs) or the performance criteria the weapon.
Too often, the user services (Army, Navy and Air force) tend to set very high standards in order to get the latest equipment.
Also, this trend is partly due to the certainty of the slow pace of procurement, as equipments would arrive late and technologies would’ve advanced.
Consequently, requirements become very technologically ambitious, that either just one or none of the potential suppliers would be able to meet them.
Since bureaucrats desire at least two eligible contenders for “price discovery”, this creates a stalemate situation.
Unrealistic Demands – This was felt in the MMRCA cancellation, when “Dassault Aviation” wasn’t willing to enter technology transfer arrangements.
Also, the timelines for delivery and other accessory conditions became prohibitive for the deal to proceed.
The Missing Element - Simplification of the procurement process has been repeatedly promised in the past but hasn’t happened.
Also, there is a lack of bureaucrats who know their subject and do not fear the possibility of subsequent investigation.
