Editor’s Note Military reforms have been a long pending requirement for post-Independence India. Under the Narendra Modi government in the past decade, crucial decisions were made in the defence reform front. These reforms—which are yet to be fully implemented and are undergoing refinement—will have a significant impact on the way the Indian armed forces synergise cooperation in training, conduct joint exercises, use resources efficiently, and forge combined arms cooperation to effectively execute warfighting missions. India’s defence procurement and industry have also been the target of reforms under the Modi government in the last ten years; some progress is now visible. Yet defence reforms have their demands and face multiple challenges. As it is in a democracy, India’s armed services follow the “ideal” Huntingtonian model imbued with a strong corporate identity subordinate to civilian control and have little impact on the survival of the civilian leaders or their political future. [1] Under this model, military services have little bargaining power vis-à-vis the state; at most, the military can define its role and express its interests. Fundamentally, according to Huntington, the military—which includes all the service branches—can influence decisions made by civilians without coercion. [2]
Authors
- Attribution
- Kartik Bommakanti, Ed., “A Decade of Defence Reforms Under Modi,” ORF Special Report No. 230 , July 2024, Observer Research Foundation.
- Pages
- 36
- Published in
- India
Table of Contents
- Editor’s Note 3
- Kartik Bommakanti 3
- 1 6
- Since Independence, the Unfinished Business of Defence Reforms 6
- Manoj Joshi 6
- 2 10
- Xi’s PLA Higher Commands Reforms: Impact on India 10
- Atul Kumar 10
- 3 14
- Defence Procurement: Reforms, Effectiveness, and Challenges 14
- Laxman Kumar Behera 14
- 4 18
- Higher Defence Organisation Reforms in India 18
- Anushka Saxena 18
- 5 22
- The Application of Emerging Technologies in the Indian Armed Services 22
- Prateek Tripathi 22
- 6 25
- Strengthening Human Resource in the Indian Armed Forces: Focus on Youth and Women 25
- Amrita Jash 25
