Parl panel: Defence sector must have timeline for delivery

New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has recommended that amid fast-changing geopolitical scenario and evolution of technology, any procurement and acquisition procedure in the defence sector needs to “have a timeline for delivery” as any inordinate and long delay in procurement can result in technology and equipment becoming obsolete and redundant.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence in its report, presented in Parliament on Wednesday, also said that keeping in view the current geopolitical situations and the need for maintaining credible war deterrence at all times, it recommends “further enhanced budgetary allocation under capital head”.

The report is titled ‘Demands for Grants (2026-27) on Capital Outlay on Defence Services, Defence Planning, Procurement Policy and Defence Pensions’.

The panel said that after examination of available facts, it learns that the modernisation of defence forces is funded through the capital segment of the defence Budget.

“Modernisation involves the acquisition of new state-of-the-art platforms, technologies and weapon systems to upgrade and augment defence capabilities. They feel that it is a continuous process based on threat perception, operational challenges and technological changes to keep the armed forces in a state of readiness to meet the entire spectrum of security challenges,” the report says.

The Committee said it further opines that as the technology is changing very fast and so is the geopolitical scenario, therefore keeping in view the “high dynamism in the defence sector any procurement and acquisition procedure needs to have a timeline for delivery as any inordinate and long delay in procurement can result in technology and equipment becoming obsolete and redundant”.

The panel acknowledged that it has been informed that defence planning is required for a robust military strength which is an essential pre-requisite for a safe and secure nation.

“The Committee has been informed that keeping in mind the diverse needs of all the three services, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) had been made as a single-point contact to ensure a joint planning for all the three services.

“The Committee are happy to note that HQ IDS has developed Integrated Capability Development System (ICDS) which carries out the defence planning through an interactive process,” the report said.

The panel said though it takes cognisance of the fact that the requirements of each of the armed forces are very complex, yet “time bound and determined efforts must be made by all the stakeholders involved in the process of procurement such as the ministry, DPSUs, the armed forces and private sector as timely procurement and delivery is vital and crucial for meeting operational needs of the defence forces and realisation of the goal of self-reliance in defence sector”.