Union Government 11 member panel to relook Defence Spend

Union Government has constituted 11 members committee to recommend measures to enhance the combat capabilities of the armed forces and re-balance the overall defence expenditure.
The 11-member committee will be headed by Lt Gen D B Shekatkar (retd). It also includes several other top military officers as well as civilian experts.
The overall aim of the committee is to ensure combat capabilities Indian armed forces and enhance their potential with a better teeth-to-tail combat ratio, within budgetary constraints. It also aims at ensuring leaner and cost-effective fighting forces of India.
Background

• The committee was constituted owing to the present revenue component (day-to-day costs/salaries) in the defence budget.
• The revenue component usually outstrips the capital outlay every year and leaves a very little for new modernisation projects for the armed forces.
• Since the 1999 Kargil conflict, Union Government is trying to follow a policy of `save and raise’ in order to improve combat capabilities without manpower increases.
• For this purpose government is focusing on modernisation and induction of cutting-edge technologies, for optimisation of manpower.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2016