scorecardresearch
Thursday, August 21, 2025
TopicIndian armed forces

Topic: Indian armed forces

With Agnipath, Modi govt’s shock & awe doctrine may have misfired a vital reform, yet again

Modi govt's biggest flaw has been its disinclination to accept limitations of electoral majorities. This ruined land acquisition and farm reform, stalled labour codes.

‘Tour of Duty’ will expose youth to military life. Don’t let bureaucracy fail it like note ban

With a take home salary of Rs 21,000, armchair bureaucrats have placed an Agniveer, who would stake their life for India, even below a lower division clerk.

Modi govt announces Agnipath scheme for armed forces. Here’s what 4-year service is all about

Enrolment under scheme will be all-India, all-class & will form a distinct rank in armed forces, besides having distinctive insignia. Aim is to keep 3 services younger & reduce pension burden.

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

Opening the choice for CDS outside of serving or ex-chiefs can unleash the demons of ambitions and cut-throat competition to impress the political leadership.

Govt sets ball rolling to appoint new Chief of Defence Staff, retired officers now eligible

New rules allow serving and retired officers of 3-star rank & above to be eligible for appointment to top post. Age limit set at 62.

As drones usher in new era of warfare, India’s growing UAV industry begins to take flight

With a growing indigenous base of drone manufacturers and exporters, and incentives from government, industry sentiment is bullish. However, some concerns remain. 

3-yr ‘Tour of Duty’ for jawans — govt to roll out new recruitment process, not for officers

Tour of Duty, likely to be implemented on trial basis first, aims to reduce burden of pay rises & pensions. Effort also on to make short service commissions more attractive to officers.

Thank you Chetak, but your 60th anniversary also reminds us what’s wrong with Indian defence

During the past 10 years, around 15 Chetak and Cheetah helicopters have crashed, killing several pilots even as it remains the workhorse of the armed forces.

Modi govt & armed forces should cut personnel by another 10%, not recruit to fill ‘deficit’

We're using quantity to compensate for quality, and India’s defence budget can't increase too much. Army has a chance to bring about long-term reforms.

Another lesson for India from Ukraine: DRDO must get its act together & get along with military

DRDO projects are victims of massive time and cost overruns, plus there's a trust deficit between them and the armed forces. These issues need fixing.

On Camera

New insolvency frameworks to shorter timelines, how 2025 amendment bill proposes to transform IBC

New bill aims to fix key issues with IBC 2016, including delays & patchy implementation, and protect creditors, with window for genuine promoters to retain control of their companies.

First-of-its kind tri-services conference Ran Samvad to take place in Army War College next week

Billed as the military’s own version of Raisina Dialogue, the event will spotlight on tech-driven warfighting, lessons from Operation Sindoor and release of three new doctrines.

War of IAF, PAF doctrines: As Pakistan obsesses over numbers, India embraces risk, wins

Now that both IAF and PAF have made formal claims of having shot down the other’s aircraft in the 87-hour war in May, we can ask a larger question: do such numbers really matter?