Whatever Happens with Agnipath Scheme, it Offers 3 Real Lessons for Future Reform

Even as the Agnipath scheme continues to face challenges on multiple fronts, let’s take a step back and ask: what are some lessons for public policy from this saga? Lack of data, institutional gaps and ill-timed reforms will continue to pose hurdles for policy initiatives in India.

Agnipath is directed correctly. But Modi govt needs Amit Shah to budge

Seldom does a scheme with a fanciful name live up to its name and that too with such devastating fidelity as Agnipath. It has delivered on its name almost instantaneously by lighting fires across India. The inflamed passions of the unemployed found expression and targeted the Narendra Modi government’s defence reform that was officially touted to provide an opportunity to the youth to serve the nation.

Choice pool for CDS shouldn’t have been expanded. Unless it’s about finding a loyal follower

Earlier this month, the Narendra Modi government amended the Army, Navy and Air Force Service Regulations to change the framework for eligibility to the post of Chief of Defence Staff. The earlier amendment of 28 December 2019 had restricted the eligibility to serving Chiefs of the three Services.  With the recent amendment, the catchment area of eligibility has been technically widened from three to at least around 180. Now, all serving three-star and retired three-star officers who would not reach 62 years of age on the date of appointment are eligible for the post of CDS. While the initial amendment sufficed to appoint General Bipin Rawat as the first CDS, it appears that there has been a reconsideration and acceptance that a widened base would serve the selection process better.

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.

‘Agnipath’ scheme for military has good intentions. But Modi govt should conduct trials first

From the ongoing Ukraine war, some reminders are knocking on the doors of India’s statecraft and in particular, its defence reforms. Admittedly, the context of the war is different, and therefore, extrapolation would be an erroneous approach. However, since all wars imply the use of violence for political purposes, there is some scope that reveals lessons to inform the trajectory of India’s military reforms. For sure, in the course of time, the Ukraine war will be studied both globally and in India. We examine two issues relevant to the Indian context and immaterial to the future course of the Ukraine war — displacement of the civilian population and the management of military manpower. An examination of both these aspects would provide some useful insights into shaping and wielding India’s military power.

Merit Must be the Benchmark For Armed Forces’ Hiring, not Recruitable Male Population Index

In 2014, the Supreme Court dismissed a PIL alleging that the Army recruitment policy was discriminatory and based on caste, religion and region. The court accepted the Army’s justification regarding the existence of certain regiments that are based on classification related to social, cultural and linguistic homogeneity. The contention was that such homogeneity is considered to be a force multiplier, as a battle-winning factor. The assertion was accepted without challenge. Since 2018, and more recently in March 2022, some Ahir community leaders from South Haryana have been using the Army’s logic to demand the institution of an Ahir Regiment.

India’s new CDS will have to decide where the loyalty of the military lies

The tragic death of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, in a helicopter crash along with 13 others including his wife Madhulika Rawat, his staff, protection party, and the aircrew was shocking. Happening at a time of heightened global and regional geopolitical tensions, it can be a setback to the laudable and long-overdue structural defence reforms initiated in January 2020 by the Narendra Modi government. The reforms were aimed at improving military effectiveness through restructuring measures in two primary domains: civil-military relations and inter-services cooperation. While history will be the ultimate judge of General Rawat’s legacy in both, his role in the changes devised in some aspects of civil-military relations is likely to be the most contentious.