Click to play videoNew Delhi: In a stunning admission, Defence Minister A K Antony has said that red-tapism is hindering India's military preparedness.
"Modernisation of the Indian Army is long overdue. Even though the Government is earmarking huge budgets, it is not being fully reflected in our modernisation efforts. Allocation of funds for this has never been a problem. We need to cut down on unnecessary procedural delays, bottlenecks and red-tapism in our procurement mechanism," Antony said.
As the military challenge to India mounts, the number of men who are ready to stand up and defend India is diminishing. While on one hand, men in uniform are queuing up to leave, on the other, enlistment at India's military academies is at an all-time low.
Last month, CNN-IBN discovered that the number of officers from the Army's cutting-edge combat leadership wanting to quit has increased four-fold in the last five years.
In 2008, the number jumped up to a record 1,200, most of them high-performers. Not enough money and having to stay away from the family were one of the biggest demoralisers.
"After some time, you want to give the best to your family but where will the money for that come from," former Army officer, Amar Kwatra had told CNN-IBN.
But it is the drying up of recruitment academies which has really stunned the defence establishment.
At courses in 2008, there were no takers for two-thirds of the slots at the Indian Military Academy.
Only 86 of the 250 vacancies at the 124th course were subscribed. At the National Defence Academy, cadet intake hit an all-time low of 190 against a training capacity of 300, and after only 11 recruits showed up for a course meant to train 107 engineers at the Officers Training Academy, the course was scrapped.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Air Defence pressed the panic button in another admission last month which left India's political leadership embarrassed.
It told the top brass that its Air Defence capabilities are hollow and that 97 per cent of its equipment was approaching obsolescence.
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