Understaffed and facing equipment shortage: Why PM Modi needs to rescue the Indian Navy

by Sunil Raman This week Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed and feted by the Indian Navy aboard aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya for a tri-services commanders’ conference. On Navy Day a week ago, PM was again with the top brass where he gave away awards for innovation. In the coming months showmanship will remain on display when India hosts the Presidential Fleet review and then hosts the Maritime Summit. [caption id=“attachment_2548064” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] An upbeat mood among Navy’s senior officers is not reflective of serious concerns among the men serving in different environment. Amidst the publicity buzz that surrounds the achievements of the Indian Navy some unhappy developments are either brushed under the carpet or ignored. This is where the Modi government needs to get serious and address recurring concerns that plague the Service personnel and address serious deficiencies in the acquisition of equipment. It is now a well-established fact that under the UPA government headed by an “honest” defence minister AK Antony the Indian Navy along with other two services faced serious deficiencies that were never addressed. But, the UPA government lost power 18 months ago and the defence ministry is headed by Manohar Parrikar known for his efficiency. ‘No negative news for now’ In the run up to the Fleet Review and Maritime Summit it has been communicated to the Commands to ensure that all pending court martials are kept in abeyance until these major events are over. After a spate of accidents particularly, those on submarines over two years ago, several competent and efficient submariners remain sidelined as court martial proceedings are all in limbo. It is pertinent to note that pending court martials currently range from officers driving without helmets to officers on board ships/submarines that had accidents. For months now officers who underwent years of training and have specialised skills like submariners are either doing desk jobs or sitting at home waiting for orders. Interestingly, for several months this year the important post of Chief of Personnel in the Navy remained vacant and the Vice Chief was officiating as COP. Surprisingly the Ministry of Defence which otherwise interferes in issues that are beyond the understanding of IAS officers felt no urgency to get Naval Headquarters to get this appointment made. After six months a full-time COP was appointed. That too, in a service where morale was seriously impacted in last three years after serious submarine accidents and deaths of officers and sailors. In recent years many, including serving officers, have questioned the court martial procedure in the three Services. The UK, from whom India inherited the procedure, reformed the process of the appointment of a Convening Officer after the European Court of Human Rights intervened. Whereas in India the competence, independence and impartiality of the court martial system has been questioned by serving and retired officers and even Amnesty International. In March this year, a Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice made observations that were critical of Navy’s disciplinary proceedings when dismissing its order to sack an officer in 2013. The Court questioned both the evidence and manner of collecting evidence. Imagine a situation where for several months all court martial proceedings have been put in abeyance and officers not being involved in active duty. Only a fortnight ago the defence minister informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply that Navy faces a shortage of 1,467 officers. If such is the personnel policy of Indian Navy and its indifference to address basic life-saving equipment shortage then the government is unlikely to make the Service more attractive to young men. The strength of India’s submarine arm has severely depleted in the last few years. Against a required strength of 24 submarines Navy has 14 of which only 10 are operational. This week the CAG found lapses in refit delay of INS Sindhukirti, a Russian made submarine that has taken 11 years. In a report presented in Parliament this week Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has calculated that delay of over a decade could have the final expense crossing Rs 450 crore. In recent weeks a Request for Information (RFI) has been floated to set up a state-of-the-art simulator in Visakhapatnam to train men on submarine damage control and fire-fighting facility. It is a welcome move but only goes to show the indifference towards security of submarine crew for years when no such state-of-the-art infrastructure was built. The RFI has now been issued but the entire process will take a few years and until then our men will continue to be expected to make do with whatever is available for training. Serious shortage of breathing and safety gear Amidst the pomp and show that the Prime Minister has been part of, he would not know that most of our two-decade-old Russian subs face a serious shortage of personal breathing and safety gear for the crews. For over five years outdated equipment, that too, in short supply is used as safety gear because they were neither upgraded in time or were not replaced. The “jugaad” mentality is at work when it comes to safety of our submarine crew when they operate underwater hoping that they do not face any eventuality. Naval personnel claim that most submarines lack adequate number of breathing and fire-fighting sets and they end up “borrowing” from other subs and even then “share” such essential gear. a) Oxybox: Russian made escape gear that helps with escape when there is fire on board were manufactured earlier with a life span of five years. In 2010 indigenous sets were to be acquired but on failure to meet quality standards the idea was put off, and now they are sought to be inducted without trials. That means their safety standards would be graded and measured when there is an actual fire and if, God forbid, it fails to save crew when tackling a real fire the headquarters or command will take a decision. b) Personal breathing sets: To be worn by all personnel this breathing apparatus provides life giving oxygen for a short period when tackling suffocating fire. This essential safety gear is again not replaced with new and superior ones. Instead some second hand sets from Russia are in use. These are two glaring examples of some essential breathing equipment and safety gear that has not been bought or replaced for years. In over 18 months since Modi government came to power there have been two defence ministers but, the appointment of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar as a full-time defence minister was expected to address some glaring gaps that exist in Navy’s personnel policy and its planned procurement plan. Parikkar must address these issues if he is serious about transforming the condition of India’s armed forces. The writer is a former BBC journalist