Relevance:

• GS 2 || Security || Tackling Security Threats || Army, Navy & Airforce

Why in news?

Indian Navy successfully test-fires advanced version of Brahmos missile

Way forward:

• The government can quickly carry out the recommendations of the Shaketkar committee regarding the closure of Army Postal Establishments and Military Farms in peacetime locales. Apart from that, the government can take the Chief of Defence Staff’s opinion into account. He said that raising the retirement age will allow the government to spend more money on other important things.
• It is critical to increase private sector engagement. This can be accomplished by establishing a permanent arbitration cell to ensure that private enterprises, such as PSUs, have a level playing field.
• The government has the authority to provide DRDO autonomy. It will increase the amount of private-sector subcontracts and instil trust in the private sector.
• The government’s in-house design capabilities, such as that of the Naval Design Bureau, must be improved. This will reduce design and capacity conflicts with manufacturers. The Shaketkar committee proposed that the ‘Military Intelligence School’ in Pune be converted into a ‘tri-service intelligence training establishment.’
• According to SIPRI, India’s military spending accounted for 2.4 percent of GDP in 2019. It was larger than the sum of health and research spending (1.5 percent of GDP) (0.7 percent of GDP). The government must accelerate indigenization in the defence sector since it has numerous benefits, including reduced fiscal deficits, improved manufacturing, and so on.