Indian Express | Agnipath 2.0: A solution for armed forces and applicants

The future of the Agnipath scheme is a pressing concern for the new government at the Centre. The narrative that this scheme dampened the NDA’s prospects gained momentum during the election campaign. The spokesperson of the JD(U), a key NDA partner, has publicly stated that the scheme upset some sections and needs to be modified. Despite these political rumblings, there is a noticeable lack of specific alternatives to address the original problems that led to the crafting of the Agnipath scheme. This article proposes an “inverse induction model” as a solution to make Agnipath 2.0 meet its operational, political, and fiscal objectives. Read the full article here.

AFSPA wives’ SC petition is embarrassing for Modi govt. MoD, Army must get their act together

A setback happened in December 2021, when 13 innocent civilian lives were lost in a counter-insurgency operation by a detachment led by a Major of 21 Para (Special Forces) in the Mon district of Nagaland. Justice has been awaiting deliverance. On 20 July, the Supreme Court, after hearing a petition filed by the wives of the army personnel, stayed all further legal proceedings that were based on the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state police. It evoked a legal necessity enshrined in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that prosecution can be carried out only with the Central government’s sanction. Such a sanction was requested by Nagaland in April 2022 but has, thus far, met with silence from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Ministry of Defence has struck back on PM Modi’s Chief of Defence Services reform. But he must stay his course

Media reports of the Narendra Modi government reviewing issues connected to India’s major and boldest structural defence reforms in the post of the Chief of Defence Staff surfaced last week. It appears to be the canary in the coal mine. Some forces, probably the Ministry of Defence, have probably convinced the leadership of the need for a review. It is worth recalling here that the reforms were not initiated by it. The call was probably a Prime Minister’s Office initiative for which PM Modi himself deserves the credit, for it was not an easy decision to take in the face of entrenched interests and beliefs. The structural change was intended to significantly improve the military effectiveness and optimise the utilisation of scarce resources. The CDS was also politically mandated to execute the reforms.