The government has approved a host of reforms in the military, with proposals to cut excess deployment and improve financial management.
Shekatkar committee:
Defence Minister has approved most of the proposals of a committee of experts, headed by Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (Retd), constituted by the Defence Ministry.
The committee, set up in 2015 to recommend measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the armed forces, has submitted its final report in December 2016.
What the committee recommends?
Savings: The committee has said that if its recommendations are implemented over the next five years, the government can save up to Rs 25,000 crore from the current expenditure.
Most of the recommendations are measures to cut down excessiveness in the Army to make it lean and agile and increase coordination among the three Services.
If the proposal to reduce deployment of active-duty soldiers in avoidable postings were to be implemented, retired officers and jawans will replace serving personnel in the running of the National Cadet Corps (NCC).
Defence budget: The panel has recommended a roll-on defence budget to have enough capital expenditure available for modernisation as against the present practice of surrendering unspent capital budget at the end of each financial year.
Transparency: The committee has recommended a performance audit of the role of non-combat organisations under the Defence Ministry.
Manpower: The committee has suggested downsizing or rationalisation of manpower in these organisations, which can lead to significant savings.
Another recommendation is the setting up of a joint services war college for training middle-level officers.
NCC reforms: Comprehensive reforms in the running of NCC could be rolled out over the next few years.
Progressively, the NCC could be run by re-employed or on-contract ex-service personnel.
The NCC will be transferred out of the Defence Ministry to the HRD Ministry.
