Book Details

Book title: India`s National Defence: Defining Defence Reforms and Military Modernisation
Author(s): Gautam Banerjee
ISBN: 9788182749375
Publication Year: 2017
Binding: HB
Pages: 300
Price: Rs. 995 Rs. 995
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ABOUT THE BOOK

fjrigjwwe9r0pp_Books:Description

As she charts her destiny in lifting her masses from poverty and backwardness, India is also obliged to ward off incessant military aggression from her two near, and most inimical neighbours. Resultantly, she is compelled to spend as much as Rupees three hundred thousand crores annually  from her overburdened national income to maintain the world’s third largest defence forces. In normal course of state wisdom therefore, one would expect that such a humungous investment would be managed in the most efficient manner to get the maximum purchase out of every paisa. But alas, that is not the case. What else could explain the contradiction that even with so much manpower, hardware and funding committed upon her military power, none of her adversaries are deterred from perpetrating acts of gross military escalation while indulging in brazen acts of sabotaging the Indian nationhood - freely and with immunity. It is also hard to explain as to why must India’s massive defence forces have to be left short of their due war wherewithal, burdened with obsolete weaponry and hardware, and saddled with overgrown and over-frigid organisations for higher (mis)management.

 

The answer is straightforward: the Indian military institution is inefficiently managed.  The long festering flaw is observed, understood and enthusiastically banished now and then, but corrections are never actually attempted. Solutions are known, more or less, but are held down, diverted and scotched by systemic prejudices, paranoia and partisan machinations, as if by design. The causes of such afflictions too are no secret: political apathy, bureaucratic subterfuge and to some extent, myopic military leadership.This book is devoted to arguments for empowerment of the apex military management system, identification of the hurdles, redress of systemic concerns valid or conjured, and goes on to offer certain options to modernise the system of Indian defence management into an operationally efficient political instrument that would promote the cause of India’s sovereignty in a cost-effective manner.

ABOUT Author

fjrigjwwe9r0pp_Books:aboutAuthor

During the course of his long and distinguished service in the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers and the General Staff, Lieutenant General Gautam Banerjee, PVSM,AVSM,YSM (Retd) has served in all of India’s the remote border areas and has participated in all operations undertaken by the Army since 1971. In the later part of his career, Gen Banerjee was the Chief Engineer, Western Army Command, the General Officer Commanding of the Madhya Bharat Area and the Chief of Staff, Central Army Command. Before superannuating after 40 years of distinguished service, he was the Commandant of the Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai.  

      

The General has been a prolific student of military strategy, leadership and futuristic warfare and his writings are acknowledged as thought provoking. During his service days, he has made singular contributions in a range of Army’s modernisation and transformational studies. Post superannuation, the General remains engaged in confabulations with the international think tank community, besides writing, speaking and participating in security related seminars and workshops in India and abroad. He is a Member of the Executive Council and a Distinguished Fellowat the Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi, a Mentor with many think tanks in India and abroad, and a Consulting Editor in India’s most prominent defence journal, the ‘Indian Defence Review’, New Delhi.

           

Besides authoring over one hundred articles and papers on military strategy, organisation and history, the General has so far published four rather well received books including one on contemporary military strategy, one  based on his first hand knowledge of the Maoist rebellion and the third on the People’s Liberation Army in Tibet. His engagements also include the Trusteeship in two Trusts working on soldiers’ welfare and morale. 

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