Ode to Kalam the eternal Guru

If you believe in destiny, perhaps you could explain how men and women enter your life for specific purposes. I was completely stumped by a chance visit to a Nadi Muni who interprets ones destiny from writings on a palm leaf,recorded many centuries ago  He, without any information about me except a thumb print,   told me not only my profession but the names of my parents as recorded on the palm leaf.. Among ancients astrologers, Brighu who wrote his predictions on those destined to read them and Agasthya are known entities of  Hindu Mythology.

Having had this stunning exposure to predictions, my mind goes back to the many chance and unscheduled interactions with late Dr Abdul Kalam during my career in the navy. This article is an attempt to rationalize, if possible, my association with Dr Kalam or Professor Kalam as he preferred to be called after relinquishing his presidential assignment.

Although I had first met him in the late 80s, regular interaction began in the early 90s and lasted till I retired in 2006. My first few meetings on serious professional matters ended in disappointment. I could not relate to his simplistic approach to resolving complex weapon-sensor related R&D work. Each session left me dissatisfied and angry. Perhaps he was treating me as a novice, I thought. Yet , I was drawn to him like a moth to a candle.  Every opportunity to discuss matters of maritime perspectives seen from progress on key DRDO projects, brought me to his door. This included a few Sundays when he reluctantly stayed back in Delhi. Every week end when most of South block remained closed. Dr Kalam proceeded to a laboratory of interest to him.

As our interaction grew so did the number of unanswered questions, mainly on delayed projects of critical importance. The missile man who was steering Prithvi and Agni was clearly unable to deliver on Trishul. Had I known that his life was shaped by his mentor Prof Satish Dhawan who set a personal example of leadership by shielding  Dr Kalam during the failure of launch vehicle and later entirely crediting him for the success of the programme, I would have understood  why he was phlegmatic on certain issues. He was clearly protecting the interest of a project which did not deliver.Not because he desired merely to protect failures but he knew that the success of such projects are critical for India's future.

But then he had another quality;there was no negative thought that his mind would accept. Every statement was loaded with optimism and positivity.  He felt that there was enough  negativity and pessimism to drown all the positive strength of his organisation and the nation as a whole.
This was an enduring trait that I imbibed from this relationship.Think positive and do not give up on your dreams.

My interaction continued to the critical programmes of strategic interest and beyond. It was not surprising when I was inducted into the Self Reliance Implementation Committee(SRIC) at South Block. There were many disagreements during the proceedings of this committee. That is when I discovered how firm he could be without being impolite. This is a quality that I failed to imbibe. Such qualities separate the great from the rest of us. A Guru who refused to be angry and a patient teacher who encouraged dissent and neutralized it with subdued panache.

When I was made an honorary ADC to the President in 2006 when I was Cin C of the Southern Naval Command, I wrote to him to say that this honorifical  appointment did  not mean much to the organisation as it carried no executive function. When he met me at a conference he whispered in my years "My funny man". I did not know whether it was an affectionate comment or a rebuke from the Supreme Commander.

A few months hence when I was about to swallow the anchor(a term used for retirement) he spent an hour with me at his study in Rashtrapathi Bhavan. " What will you do in Pune Bangara?" he asked. Without a thought I replied "I will teach Sir-I will be a little lamp which will do its best". He waved his hand and in came a photographer who clicked this picture. The picture was brought back in minutes and he asked for his special autograph pen with indelible ink and signed it with relish.

It is not the ink Sir, you have left an indelible impression which will carry me to my coffin.

Au revoir my President.

(Courtesy the quint dated 31 July 2015)

Civil-Military relations

(COURTESY FAUJI INDIA JULY EDITION)


Civil-Military
Relations:
Some Myths
and Realities

(Vice Admiral Suresh Bangara(Retd)


It was early in my career that a Commanding officer thought it appropriate to present me a book titled, "The Soldier and the State. The theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations" authored by Samuel Huntington (first published in 1957). Little did he realize while pursuing the sacred objective of grooming, that this book would guide me for the rest of my life. It took me decades of reading in installments, as and when doubts arose in my mind, to slowly but surely understand the 'politics' of civil-military relation in our context.

In 1970, I returned from the erstwhile Soviet Union after a very perplexing exposure to a communist/socialist regime and its interface with its Military, fought the 1971 war and a few years later,  landed at the Royal Naval staff college at Greenwich, London. Maggie Thatcher had begun to revitalize the UK and specially its armed forces. Apolitical as their Military was, the excitement and expectations of good governance was palpable even among the stiff -upper lipped Brits. I was tasked to profile her leadership in the context of civil-military relations (three years later she fought the Falk Land war eight thousand miles away from her shores, based on the assurance of her First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Henry Leach).

Given that Samuel's book, was my constant companion, I was better equipped to complete my first project entirely to my satisfaction.

A few years later, I was posted as the Naval Adviser to our mission in Islamabad. This was the Zia era and I spent three years watching and studying the Military Dictatorship at work. Samuel's book prompted me to record my thoughts on what I saw in Pakistan.

Years later, after routine exposure to naval appointments, of which many significant ones brought me in close proximity with senior civil servants and Ministers, visits abroad and more confusion on the Indian model of civil-military relations; in 1992, I entered the portals of the National Defence College(NDC) .

It afforded me the opportunity to study the Indian scene and cover the whole spectrum of socio-political, economy, science and technology, industry etc finally culminating in strategic
environment and national security. The participants drawn from the services, civil services, police and a number of senior officers from friendly foreign countries from the East and the West did share their experiences and thoughts. It is here that one's understandings of the Indian context are fully realized. The yawning gap in civil-military relations with all its ramifications could now be juxtaposed with Samuel's seminal work on the subject.

Finally, in 2000, I was packed off to the John F Kennedy School of Public Policy and governance at Harvard. I came face to face with Samuel Huntington who sat me down and clarified my doubts. Destiny had played a role in my quest to put the civil-military relations in context of post independent India. Looking back, it took me all of three decades to start a debate on what little, I now know.
The symptoms of the disease

The symptoms of poor civil-military relations occasionally alluded to in the media, pertain to neglected servicemen, surrender of medals to the supreme commander, hunger strikes by former military personnel, unimplemented supreme court rulings in their favour, unfulfilled government promises, fratricide and indiscipline among soldiers, neglect of war widows and war heroes. This list is by no means exhaustive. But what are the causes of the disease?

The first question that arises is, whether India is unique among other established and acknowledged democracies of the world. If so why? If not, what is common among such democracies? Memories being short, we tend to forget many grave instances including the poor civil-military relations which led to unsavoury  behaviour of American Military personnel in the Korean war and later during and after the Vietnam war. Those of us who did not have televisions were able to see the resentment against the US Government in movies made later based on true stories. Demonstrations on streets of New York and Washington and the sheer neglect of rehabilitating battle casualties back home were scenes that cannot be forgotten.

This, despite a long history of war, starting with the civil war, through the world wars and numerous operations thereafter which enabled them to fine tune their civil-military equations. The open respect displayed today to American soldiers in uniform or war casualties brought back to be buried with military honours, have evolved over centuries of waging war, some, far away from their shores. The range and scale of this experience willy-nilly involved the civil society as a whole. We on the other hand, are just approaching the seventh decade of our independence; hence comparisons with USA or UK may well be incongruous.

Similar episodes with respect to other democracies with long history in Europe indicate that civil-military relations is a process of continuous evolution and that no single nation can claim to have found the right formula to attain satisfaction of both parties. There are numerous pushes and pulls in the Presidential system in America. Those who care to read Samuel's book can also trace how the system evolved through ideologies, confusion and contradictions.

The Political Dilemma
Much has been written about the circumstances under which the post-independence Indian Political leadership was ill equipped to deal with the Military. Both internal and external factors played a significant role in exacerbating this critical relationship. While unstable environment caused by Pakistani action soon after independence kept the military busy, numerous military takeover in the immediate neighbourhood soon after decolonization, gave credence to the rumours that India too may be subjected to military rule.

Inter alia, such a possibility may have been nullified by introducing structural changes in higher defence management, reducing the potential powers of Cs-in-C , by creating Chief of Staff of the three services, eliminating the military from pre independence decision making bodies of higher defence management, reducing the stature of military officers in protocol, pay and allowance, perks, creating a large cadre of central police forces under the Home ministry and a host of other actions which also included having a common pay commission with no direct participation of the armed forces of India.

At that point in our history, there was neither literature on civil-military relations nor examples of constitutional approach to address the emerging controversies in Indian model of governance.
The point to note is that even the American Constitution had only a subjective approach to civil-military relations. As Samuel Huntington states, civilian control of the armed forces emerged "despite rather than because of constitutional provisions". India adopted many of the provisions of the American constitution and since Britain had no written constitution, traditions and customs of Britain was considered for incorporation in our own document.

Samuel Huntington was the first author who researched the subject of civil-military relations the contents of which were not available to us till well after 1960.

In India, neither the politician nor the military clearly understood the term "Civilian control". Civilian control would be maximised if the military were limited in scope and relegated to a subordinate position in a pyramid of authority culminating in a single civilian head" wrote Samuel, while adding that the reverse was also recorded under the military clause of their constitution, which divided civilian responsibility of military affairs and fostered the direct access of the military authorities to the highest level of Government. Remember, at that time, all three services in USA, operated independently until the integration was forced upon them by the Gold water Nichols act in the late 80's.

While the evolution of the American system progressed on predicted lines, since they have the Presidential system of government, our dilemma was, perhaps, which civilian head of the Government would control the Indian Armed forces. The President is just a titular head although given the title of the supreme commander. It had to be the Prime Minister through the RM. It was not surprising that Nehru made himself available to the armed forces for consultations when required. He personally knew many officers of the rank of Brigadier and above as recorded by late General Inderjit Rikhye, who was handpicked by PM to precede to the UN headquarters. The infamous Gen Kaul episode in 1962 however, brought home the dangers of politicisation of the Armed forces as opposed to exercising civilian control over the Military.

This was followed by Indira Gandhi who established a personal equation, though turbulent at times, with Sam Manekshaw and lastly, Rajiv Gandhi who interacted with his Chiefs along with his RRM, Arun Singh and hence often did not have to rely only on the bureaucracy to advice him. Both the Sri Lanka operation and Operation Brass Tacks, which caused tensions between India and Pakistan are often quoted by skeptics as examples of bad experiments of civil-military interaction at the apex level, during the Rajiv Gandhi era. These were in fact personalized leadership traits which had all the trappings of an evolving relationship which needed refinements but not rejection.
The momentum maintained in the 50's and 60's in clipping the wings of the Armed forces had done irreparable damage to the work ethos of MoD. Allocation of business rules and transaction of business rules of MoD first published in 1961 (duly approved by the President) and still in vogue with minor amendments, makes the Defence Secretary responsible for the defence of India. There is no role assigned to the Chiefs since service headquarters were attached offices of MoD.

The Committee of Defence Management headed by Arun Singh in the wake of Kargil conflict had clearly outlined the anomalies in the system and had suggested solutions. The most critical of them remains unimplemented till date, ostensibly, due to lack of political consensus. Apart from remedying existing anomalies and assigning responsibility and accountability to the military, it would have addressed one of the major weaknesses in the civil-military relations in India i.e. lack of a single point military advise to the head of political leadership and participation in strategic decision making process on matters pertaining to national security.

In brief, in the absence of a clear authority-responsibility-accountability matrix, the civil-military equation at the apex level continues to be vague and nebulous. The military quite clearly cannot and should not function under a civilian bureaucrat, but only under the highest political authority. In our case it has to be the PM through RM.

What of the military?
With neither the constitution to support nor clarity to perform, except as an extension of the MoD, the services were left to fend for themselves. Every proposal, every plan and every communication even to other ministries such as MEA had to be processed through MoD and it needed the concurrence of the Def Sec. Neither the politician, save a few, nor the bureaucrats at various levels of MoD have the domain expertise or knowledge to respond to scores of proposals originating from the three services.
Most bureaucrats may not draft a single speech to be made by their Minister due to lack of domain knowledge. Every document on National security originated from service headquarters. So, we wrote and heard our own drafts being read out to us during various meetings and seminars. 15 year plans for modernisation and up gradation remained confined to files.

At the field level, officers are trained to be high caliber professionals. Their profession is management of violence. This being a unique profession, the training is such that it prepares him/her for successful combat operation. No parallel entry is possible, for, unless you have acquired the skill and practiced them for a length of time you cannot be successful in combat. A commercial Pilot for instance, cannot replace a fighter pilot unless he acquires combat skills. A fighter pilot can however fly a commercial aircraft if the certification process is completed. Hence an officer of the armed forces is irreplaceable by another professional from outside the forces.

The soldier is trained to be a specialist in application of violence. That is his trade and not a profession. Hence there is a clear dividing line between the manager and the tradesman.
The armed forces are, as a rule, monopolized by the state. More importantly the profession of management of violence can be practiced only for socially approved purposes. Regulations, customs and traditions, hence become an indispensable part of a soldier's life. Consequently the relations between the state and the soldier are a sacred one. There is much to be done so
that a soldier is not equated to Policemen, a blunder which has serious repercussions on maintaining the 'IZZAT' of the Soldier. Here is where the civil society is required to step in.


Role of the civil society
Success of all democracies depends mainly on the quality of their civil societies. They too evolve over time. A well informed educated and mature civil society ensures that it elects the right political leadership. Both the Soldier and the politician emanate from the same civil society. It is also true that "Our God and soldier we alike adore even at the brink of danger, not before, after deliverance both alike requited, our God is forgotten and our soldier slighted" This comes from an author, Francis Quaries who belongs to a country which has seen great sacrifices by the soldier. Why is it a truism? The civil society has short memories. It is not the duty of a soldier to repeatedly point out the sacrifices made by him. It is the duty of the civil society to fight for the rights of the soldier. The society is expected to fight with the politician so that the soldier is cared for while in service and in retirement.

The onus on erecting a war memorial does not rest on a soldier, it is the civil society which should push its political leadership to remember and honour our dead soldiers. The civil society also has the power to punish the politician who fails to honour the soldier.

According to Yasmin Khan a historian, about 2.3 Million Indian soldiers fought during World War 2 and “89,000 laid down their lives in Military service.” Given the size of our population then, it touched the lives of many Indian families. There was awareness about sacrifices created by the unfortunate circumstances of war. 400,000 Americans and 388,000 Britishers died in the war. Civil societies tend to remember losses when it impacts them.

During periods of peace the intelligentsia which controls the media often questions investments in National security. Pressing debates on socio-economic issues keep the soldier out of sight.

Some Options
In the Indian context, it is essential to continuously educate the civil society on trials and tribulations of our soldier. Compulsory military training or making NCC compulsory in schools and colleges and constant engagement with civil society through well structured films, plays and street shows are options that need to be exercised.
In my view, it is essential to induct ex servicemen of repute into our political structure so that the voice of the soldier is heard in the parliament. We need more of Jaswant Singhs, Khanduris and Shankar Roychowdhurys.

Thousands of ex-servicemen entered politics, industry and other professions in USA soon after WW2. Many rose to be Presidents and successful congressmen. Industries too benefited from the focus brought to bear by military personnel.
Soldiers must enter all possible walks of life after retirement to be able to mobilize the good will of the society, which in turn could make the politician accountable to evolve a new equilibrium in civil-military relations of a young India. ______________________________________________________________________________

Multi-National Banks have served their purpose-Time to move on to other developing countries.

A recent press release quotes the Governor of reserve bank of India discussing the need to create Ombudsman  in all banks in India. After my recent confrontation with two Indian banks, one a public sector bank and the other a private on an ATM complaint and the support that I received from the social media which hastened its settlement, this news was music to my ears.

My earlier experiences are contained in my blog on "Deceived by ATM or bank" and "Compatriots turned ombudsman on social media". Even as I was savouring the intent of the RBI statement, a new experience had begun-this time with the only account I had with a multi-national bank. Two decades ago many would recollect the ordeals of banking with any branch of  public sector banks. They were not linked with their branches spread across the country, the staff were not customer friendly, paper transactions  were painfully slow - in short banking was a forgettable experience.

When the doors were thrown open to the private sector in retail banking, we were suddenly exposed to efficiency and infrastructure hitherto unseen in India. Some of us moved our accounts to these swanky,efficient and customer friendly entities. Much like the aviation sector which improved with competition, banking too saw some seminal changes. However over a period of two decades, the same multi-national bank began to degenerate.

Customer relations started to degrade when this multi-national bank(MNB)allegedly colluded with unethical practices associated with money laundering in Europe. Perhaps owing to scrutiny of procedures and processes, human interface with customers was minimized  substantially at the cost of harassment to customers. For instance, cheques were dishonoured on regular basis due to alleged discrepancies of signatures stored on the computer.  While public sector banks found means to communicate rapidly with their customers to reduce inconvenience, the MNB made it impossible for the customer to reach them. Queries on internet banking elicited no response for 72 hours or more. The response when received failed to address the concern of the customer. Visits to the branch became necessary despite the facility of internet banking.

Let me cite two examples to illustrate my angst. I  personally deposited a cheque into my account and received the counter foil. Weeks later, when the cheque remained uncredited, I complained on the internet, only to be defeated by inane replies.All the telephones of local branches are barred for incoming calls, a fact not revealed to the customer. I  had to  once again use  net banking, to point out a possible error on the deposit slip which might have caused the delay. During this whole process, neither did I receive the cheque back as invalid nor did the bank call me to verify my facts.Ergo, I decided to confront the staff at the branch.  I called up the toll free number and asked if the bank was open on that day which happened to be Budh Jayanti.   Having received a positive response I traveled a considerable distance only to find the bank closed. Wait, now comes the cherry on the cake.

Having reached the bank, I decided to use the ATM at their main branch. The MNB had a number of security staff monitoring their machines. Out of the two machines one was under repairs. Just when I was about to insert my card on the operational machine, the guard urgently accosted me with a "no-no". Perplexed with the agility and alertness of the guard when I asked him what was the commotion about, he responded with,"Don't insert your card. The machine will swallow it and you will have to return tomorrow to collect it" A MNB with nonoperational machines under their very nose, in the largest branch in town.

Not surprisingly this was the last straw that broke the camel's back.I decided to close my account with this bank. Three visits and numerous calls later, with all my documentation for closure done, I am waiting for the cheque for the balance of my money lying with them. Since I cannot call the branch, my complaints on the net are being replied from Kolkotta which is liaising with Pune to release my dues. Our friendly Public sector bank on the other hand, is increasingly more accessible and efficient on the net too.

Mr Governor of RBI, please expedite the appointment of Ombudsman for all banks in India at the earliest.You will do well to start with HSBC -the MNB in question. Not many have the time or the facilities to deal with non-customer-friendly banks who need to be penalized for customer neglect, driven by emphasis on procedures, rather than on  customer satisfaction. 

IPL -India's Teohar?

There is no doubt that IPL is here to stay. What else can take way the tensions of examination,the unbearable heat of April/May every year and the sheer entertainment or infotainment value along with revenue and job generation opportunities. All in all a win-win situation for all. Yes and no, as I discovered on 18 Apr during the battle between Kings X1 Punjab and KKR at Pune.

The relatively new stadium originally named after Sahara and now run by the Maharashtra Cricket Association sans the original name,is quite an imposing structure along side the Mumbai- Pune expressway- at the very entrance to Pune. But how does one get there in the first instance? Traffic and poor infrastructure just outside the stadium knocks out the excitement generated prior to the event. So what is new you might ask. The time taken to reach the stadium from the heart of Pune city in a rough bumper to bumper ride, took all of  3 hours and 20 minutes. That is the time taken to reach Mumbai from Pune on the express way. It is another matter that one tends to forget the journey once you are in the electrifying ambiance inside  the stadium, when the great game of cricket starts.

Should an international standard infrastructure be attempted to get the spectators to the stadium  in a reasonable time, the cost could be enormous.. So what is the next best option? Do the best that you can with what you have and let the spectators duly forget the experience after the event. After all how many matches of this stature are conducted in the stadium through the year. So what, if you have to struggle on a few occasions-whats the big deal! That attitude is precisely what separates us from the  ones including China. An integrated plan ought to take all aspects of the game including access to the terminal facility. It implies that multiple stake holders including resource less Government  agencies need to be brought on board. Sahara may have hired the best experts from around the world or those who have the expertise within, but then why would BCCI or Sahara fund the whole package of accessibility?

Will this pain of transportation be alleviated over a period of time? Perhaps. But the moot question is, was the optimum  utilization of the stadium along with regular upkeep budgeted in the first instance? Just look at another swanky stadium called DY Patil which is reachable within 3 hours from Pune and that too located at the entrance to Navi Mumbai. Why was it built in the first instance? Who plays cricket there now?

And now the logistics of entry. Although scores of security and hospitality personnel were seen at the entry points, it did not take long to realize that they were ill equipped to guide those in trouble. When we finally blundered into our stand, which was by no means   inexpensive, our marked seats were already occupied by flag wielding less than congenial,  persons who were in no mood to discuss seating plan or the lack of it. They even claimed that they had thrown away their tickets(costing a few thousand rupees). It needed the intervention of a couple of bouncers to unseat  them which meant moving them a few seats further away, You are expected to' manage' in the interest of the game-even if it meant sharing a single seat!

This puzzle of unauthorized occupation was solved the next morning. The Daily Mirror had a front page story of a ticket scam in which the ticketing agency, security and the organizers had a business model centered on touts.. That is another story which is unlikely to shock you, as this scam is minuscule compared to  the G's that you are familiar with. The Indian rope trick of Scam versus Skill has recently been articulated in Canada too.

And now the food. Here the Mango man scored over those of us who had paid for our food or were promised complimentary goodies.  Beverages and food on sale were better organised for quick turn around. Not so for the privileged . The great Indian wedding ambiance prevailed.Grab, jostle, elbow and swallow as if it were the final contest for the Limca book of world record.

And so friends, if you are a senior citizen who is not used to traffic jams, exploding number of four/two wheelers on the roads, inefficient security and poor logistics, including just a glass of beer with no dinner to follow, sit on your favorite chair with your favourite drink and see clearly the close up of a game which you love along  with competent analysis and a running commentary. You have the option to mute sounds that you do not approve of and even play back a recording. You do not have to swing your arms just to be part of a forced Mexican wave, which was never ending and the fear of losing your seat every time you were obliged to stand for the wave.

Long live IPL.It may not be as great a Teohar as it sounds on TV.  

Compatriots turned "Ombudsmen" on social media

Those of you who supported my last blog." Deceived by ATM or bank," by sharing and tweeting, would be happy to note that Kotak Mahindra has decided to reimburse me. This is certainly a victory for social media. My generation of people are yet to come to terms with its power. Let me explain.

After a month of rejecting my claims despite evidence in my favour, SBI was throwing the book at me,an old outdated philosophy that talked about "Competent authority" rejecting my claim. They were telling me about escalating ladders of grievance redressal,as though a month of repeated complaints were not enough to self escalate the matter at the appropriate level.

When my blog on the issue started to gather momentum, Kotak was quick to use their in-house monitoring system to directly contact me, while SBI was warning users of social media to keep off their visible link on the social media- which I guess is outsourced to some agency.

Had I continued to escalate the process with SBI , I would perhaps be going to the Ombudsman about now. With social media playing a supportive role in terms of appropriate  intervention and spreading knowledge to users on the rights of a customer,this wholly new approach worked as a force multiplier. I see this trend getting stronger with each passing day, even as digital connectivity and appropriate usage of this space continues to proliferate.

What does this mean to the banking sector whether public or private? It simply means that they need to rewrite their processes to keep pace with information explosion." The customer is always right." It is up to the Bank to profile their customers and act expeditiously.

Is it not sad that thousands of crores are bracketed in the NPA category, when a few thousands rupees from the savings bank account is denied to a genuine customer?

My gratitude  to all of you,many who did not even know me, for caring to do what you  did; simply backed one who used his blog site to communicate with these amazing compatriots on face book

Thank you my new found 'ombudsman'

Deceived by ATM or Bank?

I write this blog to share my experience on what may not be known to many users of ATM during transactions in India.

Technology has enabled us to find means to satisfy the exploding requirements of a Billion plus customers whose aspirations are mind boggling. Cell phones and connectivity have enabled  the lesser endowed sections of our people. Rail reservations is one such segment which has made what was impossible into a drawing room experience. Ask those of us who had stood in queues form mid night just to get a ticket to travel a few months hence..

When ATM s arrived on the scene, it was a quantum jump and a relief  not to visit the nearest bank with a paper cheque.  Those who doubted the capability of an average Indian to use the machine must now be  eating  their hats. Understandably the machine evolved over a period of time and became increasingly sophisticated. It now places fake currencies in a bin and is expected to bin excess cash due to erroneous transactions.

Here are two specific examples of what may happen to you. The first concerns a highly reputed private bank. When my wife tried to withdraw Rs 20000 she ended up receiving a very small amount. The entire sum was however, debited by her bank as indicated by a message by SMS. In this case the machine was the property of the same bank. There is a process to be followed by the customer which ought to be displayed at every ATM location. But you guessed it -no such notice or a check list exists. The parent branch is expected to deal with this complaint which depending on the time and day may mean waiting for the next working day just to register your complaint. In this case after numerous attempts to follow up, the intervention at a very high level ensured that my wife was reimbursed.  That was just fortunate.

The second case occurred when I attempted to draw Rs 10000 from the ATM of another well known private  bank using the debit card of the largest public centre bank. I received only Rs 2000. I immediately sought the assistance of the security guard who produce a register for me to make the entry or a statement. I also called up the toll free number of the private bank requesting them to register my complaint. The security guard assured me that this is not an isolated incident,  that there were three cameras recording the event and that I should merely take it up with my public sector bank.

Here is what followed. I wrote an official complaint with all the experience of my service life so that no detail was omitted. I was assured by the Chief Manager that the rest would follow when the complaint was taken up with the Private sector bank. Promptly I was assigned a complaint number on SMS. Days later, I received a SMS telling me that "the competent authority has rejected my complaint and that I should contact my branch for details".

I had heard enough of competent authority in my service days but how can a customer be told of a competent authority.? This goes against the grain of a banking system which is meant to service a customer. Despite all the progress made in banking and internet banking in particular of which I am very proud, this sentence told me that our banks are not ready to serve its customer.The government red tape was in full view.

I therefore challenged the competent authority with some facts. If they accept that the entire sum was indeed delivered to me how come an amount of Rs 1500 has been credited to me by the bank. Hence one of the banks was less than truthful in their stand. I was asked to submit another complaint to which I pointed out that my first complaint was complete in all respect and hence despite the threatening tone of the competent authority I stood by my complaint. A few hours later, I received another SMS with a fresh complaint number. Needless to say within a few hours I received yet another rejection by the competent authority.

Another visit to the bank. This time the Chief Manager asked me whether I could visit the private bank responsible for the ATM machine and get his views. Although it sounded incorrect, I agreed so that the matter could be pursued with vigour.

Now the turn of the "efficient "'private sector bank. I barged into the office of the Manager who was located in a small cubicle. He was much younger than the Chief Manager, quite commensurate with the size of his little branch. He was polite and positive as expected from a private bank but soon began to vacillate. He called in his colleague who promptly told him what I already knew. That I should not have been directed to approach this bank as I was not their customer and that it should be dealt with between the relevant sections of the two banks. After this very enlightening intercourse,the young manager told me that as a favour he would make enquiries from his headquarters on whether the outsourced company which handles the ATM has reported excess cash in the ATM. He took my contact numbers and promised to give me a call in a day. Yes, you guessed it, no calls even after a week.

Before departing the private sector bank, I sought his permission to give him some unsolicited advice. He showed remarkable receptive abilities but was not quite prepared for what I was about to say. I told him that I used the ATM only because it carries the name of his famous bank and is located in his premises.Now that he had admitted that he has no control over what happens with the machine as its operation is outsourced, he should seriously consider removing the name of his bank so prominently displayed on the machine, so that innocent users like me are not conned by the name of the bank. It was as if I had slapped him. I gave him a parting smile while he stammered and he stuttered pathetically.

Back to the champions of my public sector bank. The see saw sms battles rage even after a month. The competent authority has won uptil now. I was advised that the customer is entitled to Rs 100  per day if the dispute is not resolved. These are reserve bank orders. Now you know why the competent authority so swiftly disposes off complaints.

I am now going to the only option for justice-the ombudsman.The two banks involved are SBI and Kotak Mahindra,the latter owns the machine.

What can you do? Let us share more such experiences which have gone unreported so far. Can you imagine the plight of a poor customer who can barely afford to lose his hard earned money, while the elephants clash.

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Modernisation of the Indian Navy

From 'Made in India' to 'Make in India'

It is believed that war ships mirror the technological capability of their respective countries. There is no better way to display the power and capabilities of the Indian built warship, ala, INS Kolkotta or INS Shivalik, than to throw open the ship to visitors as we do when we visit foreign  ports. This was a routine practice when our ships visited ports in India until the scourge of terrorism descended on us. Thousands of citizens would line up to walk around our warships. Special visits were arranged for school children and experts as also the media. Paradoxically just when we have attained standards of ship building which can be the envy of any developing or developed nation, access to these ships have been severely restricted.

How did the Indian Navy(IN)  manage to keep pace with state of the art technology, that too by using the indigenous ship building route and what does it portend for the 'Make in India' mantra being vigorously pursued by the new Govt? To analyse this issue objectively we need to trace the efforts of the past in order to provide a broad perspective for the future. Since the navy operates in all three dimensions, i.e. surface, subsurface and air it would be instructive to trace the path adopted for modernisation of ships, submarines and aircraft.

War-ship Building

The planning process to define the force levels of our navy began in right earnest soon after independence. The very meagre allocation for defence budget resulted in the smallest share being allotted for the acquisition and modernisation of the smallest defence service of the nation. Consequently not only did the navy have to contend with the initial British reluctance to supply modern blue water platforms to the Indian navy, but it had to also function with the lowest share of the defence budget. The navy was allotted 4% of the defence budget in 1950/51. This rose to 9% briefly and reverted to 4% in 1964/65.The Chinese imbroglio resulted in priority to the Army and the Air force. 

Given the lack of shipbuilding facility in India, the first acquisition of ships after independence consisted of eight Frigates and a second hand carrier from UK. The entire programme under soft loans was executed between 1958 and 1961. Serious efforts to acquire submarines were thwarted by the British after the first Indian crew, in 1962, was trained for induction of the much needed submarine. The Soviet Union seized the opportunity and thereafter also became the sole supplier of corvettes, frigates, destroyers, mine sweepers and missile vessels.

The meagre allocation of resources did not deter the IN from pursuing indigenous capability to build frigates in India. In 1965, the British clinched this deal with yet another special defence credit of 4.7 Million pounds which included expansion of the Mazagaon docks in Mumbai.  While the Soviet Union flooded the naval acquisition programme with a wide ranging array of ships at competitive political costs, the construction of the Leander class continued at Mazagaon Docks and the first indigenously made frigate INS Nilgiri was commissioned in 1972. This was followed by three more, before an Indian design burst on the scene.

Two path breaking decisions taken prior and during this critical juncture  need special mention. The first pertains to the creation of an in-house ship design facility by the Indian Navy, manned principally by naval officers, which has grown in stature and skill over the last five decades. Successful construction of the first Indian designed aircraft carrier at Kochi and the latest destroyer INS Kolkotta are the fruits of this labour.

 

The second was the creation of a Weapons and Electronics System Engineering Establishment(WESEE) which continues to play a stellar role in sensor-weapon systems integration and data fusion of diverse sensors and weapons procured from multiple sources in the world. Data fusion through tactical data link for multiple platforms developed by them, has also contributed to the success of maritime operations.

The continued emphasis on indigenous construction has now resulted in Mazagaon Docks, Garden Reach at Kolkotta, Goa Shipyard, Kochi Shipyard and the former non-defence PSU, Hindustan Shipyard at Vizag, participating in building a wide range of ships for the navy. Aircraft carrier, destroyers, frigates, submarines, corvettes, missile vessels, landing craft, fast patrol boats, offshore patrol vessels, survey vessels and a tanker have been/ are being built in Indian yards. Of late, private sector yards, ABG, Bharati and L&T have begun to participate in warship construction.

Import options have also been exercised due to capacity limitation of our yards and the need to make up shortfalls in force levels.

Submarine Building

Protracted negotiations for over a decade in 1980's saw Mazagaon Dock Ltd clinching an order to build, under license, two of the four state of the art Hunter killer submarines designed by HDW of Germany. This event is very significant in that for the first time the yard had to be modernised to cater to contemporary building standards, as also for upgrading the skill of the labour force. The yard did successfully build two modern submarines when the MOD abruptly terminated the contract with HDW due to allegations of corruption against high ranking Indian personnel. We thus successfully managed to 'cut our nose to spite our face'. We let the entire infrastructure set up at great cost to rot and the skilled manpower to migrate.

After a gap of many decades we have once again revived submarine construction, this time with the assistance of the French. Currently the programme is running four years behind schedule. The 30 year perspective plan submitted to the Govt in 1999 has progressed at snail's pace and the navy has had to put up with considerable reduction in submarine force levels.

The strategic submarine programme continues to make progress and is beyond the scope of this essay.

Naval Aviation

Due to limited availability of indigenous options, all aircraft currently in service, except the HAL produced Chetak helicopters, ALH and Dornier, are imported from UK, USA and Russia. The navy has however made investments in LCA and ALH to augment ship/carrier borne operations. Critical shortages in ship borne medium range anti-surface and anti-submarine helicopters of the 10 ton variety are yet to be made up, due to procedures and processes of acquisition by MOD. The more we delay the more we pay both in financial and operational costs.

‘Made in India’ versus ‘Make in India’

Timely replacement of aging assets is an integral part of the 15 year plan submitted by the navy. Inability to fund or follow up such programmes has resulted in critical shortfalls in force level and an aging fleet. While cumulative delays lead to exercising import options to bridge critical shortages, if attempts to 'Make in India' are stalled, we will never be self sufficient and by implication we will never enter the exclusive club of powerful nations of the world. Hence, it is necessary to differentiate between 'Made' and 'Make' in India. To make in India, some basic criteria need to be satisfied.

Ship building has not been a priority activity in the industrial policy of India. Due to security and commercial interests, initially Europe, then Japan, South Korea and now China have provided incentives and subsidies to attain global standards and to be competitive in manufacture and sale. Since warship building was limited in numbers, India was deprived of developing and sustaining a large number of major and ancillary industries which support ship building. From steel to propulsion package volumes and economy of scale will dictate the interest generated in the private sector. Hence cost of basic ship building has a direct bearing on the cost of warships. In addition, the following criteria play a vital role to support the Make-in-India mantra:-

·       Skilled man power.

·       Contemporary Infrastructure

·       Design capability

·       Domestic industrial capability for ship borne equipment 

Remove any one of the above and ‘Make in India' becomes 'Made in India.'  It takes 8 -10 years to develop quality workmen, and 15 -20 yrs to develop quality shipbuilding engineers and ship designers. Some yards are restricted by the depth of water available at their location. Infrastructure up gradation of DPSUs, so critical to timely delivery of platforms, has only been recently addressed along with budgetary support but delayed time frame for completion. Until recently our shipyards had neither sufficient dock side crane facilities nor  ability  to undertake modular construction, which is the norm followed in modern yards. The modernisation programmes launched in all our yards have just begun to take shape and in some cases is likely to be completed in phases, perhaps spread over forth coming plan periods.

Apart from poor infrastructure, delays in timely delivery of warships have been caused by dependence on foreign suppliers for propulsion package, sensors and weapons. While the in-house design capability has matured over the years, non-freezing of specifications and staff requirements have also contributed to cost escalation.

Inordinate delays in DRDO projects have forced us to opt for imports of guns, missiles and certain sensors. Surface to surface and surface to air missiles have had to be imported from Russia and Israel. More recently, the DRDO adopted the joint venture route to launch projects such as Brahmos with Russia - the only supersonic SSM in the world - and the long range surface to air missiles from Israel.

Would it solve the problems of transfer of technology and lesser if not least dependence on the foreign partner? The answer is a resounding 'NO'. An audit by specialists would reveal that such products while carrying a 'Made in India’ tag, do not reduce reliance on the JV partner. This cannot therefore be classified as a 'Make in India' product.

In comparison, the sonar project launched jointly by the Navy and DRDO in 1970's and the EW programme launched in 1990's have been totally Indian projects which meet all the criteria for 'Make in India'. Some may claim that radars manufactured in BEL which started with the Leander programme in the 1970's to be a successful one. However, TOT in the real sense was never achieved and production in India can be hampered by the OEM at will. Similar is the story of indigenous manufacture of the Otomelara 76mm gun and the close in rapid firing AK 630 both of which are dependent on their OEM.

It has taken decades to realise that no worthwhile technology would be transferred to a third party and those that are, due to obsolescence in the supplier production chain, would elicit a grand sum of money for TOT- which in most cases make it unaffordable. 

Should we therefore assume that all such equipment licensed for production in India are just 'Made in India' and are susceptible to denial at will? The answer is a resounding 'Yes'. Yet, Joint Venture production as was done between private partners of USA(GE) and France(SNECMA) for commercial aircraft engines (Boeing and Airbus), is a necessary step to increase volume of production by sourcing customers globally or regionally. Commercially driven ventures find means to be more productive than Government run ventures.

So, if the propulsion package, sensors and weapons are to be sourced from abroad to meet the immediate requirement of the 42 ships and submarines on order, how and when do we realise the 'Make in India' campaign?

First, we would need to professionalise the decision making structure in the MOD. Transient generalists who man critical billets of decision making need to be replaced by professionals and experts. This would involve all departments in MOD, more so in Defence Production. Integration of MOD with Service Headquarters is a recommendation made by the GOM in 2001. Besides cosmetic changes on letter heads, no tangible action has been taken to date.

Second, it would be revealing to examine the 'bible' for conduct of business in MOD, titled 'Allocation of Business Rules' and 'Transaction of Business Rules' duly approved by the President of India in 1961. According to these rules, the Defence Secretary is responsible for the defence of India. The Service Chiefs have been assigned no role. Who then is responsible for delays of decades in acquisition and procurement of critical weapons, sensors and ordnance and even outcome of a war? Hence, Structural reforms and clear devolution of accountability are essential prerequisites for good governance. 

Third, now that we have reasonably advanced manufacturing facilities in the private sector, it is time to select the most competent of them to research and submit proposals for ship borne weapons/sensors and propulsion packages (diesel, gas turbine or fuel cell technology) to match the ship production schedule of the navy. Selective funding/credit for R&D from the Government would be an alluring if not an enduring incentive.

Fourth, while focusing on modernisation of existing DPSU yards to achieve timely production to ensure little or no cost escalation, encourage the private sector to develop their skilled man power and design teams. Utilising modern facilities in the private yards, including ship lift, modular construction, docks and heavy duty cranes could be integrated in our plans to compress production time. In brief, combine the man power expertise of the public sector with management practices of the private sector through a public-private partnership

Fifth, encourage yards both public and private to create design facility for export of ships and to maximise their earnings.

Sixth, remove all firewalls created to suppress creativity and entrepreneurship among competing entities. Promote single vendor culture where economies of scale and volumes of production are inevitable factors for compressing production schedules. Many of the strategic projects in USA work on this model with inbuilt checks and balances.

Seventh, promote uninhibited interaction between selected vendors and the user to facilitate seamless transfer of ideas from concept to reality.

Eighth, in order to minimise wastage of skilled personnel and maximise the drive to make in India, permit employment of high quality naval personnel in public and private sectors. Officers and men often wish to retire early due to lack of vertical growth opportunity and other reasons of stability. It may be noted that post WW2, a large number of Military personnel in USA and Europe were absorbed in public and private sector manufacturing and industrial/commercial sectors. They in turn rose to lead many of the internationally acclaimed organisations and companies. Presently a similar trend is visible in the telecom and IT sectors of India which has a fair share of veterans in senior rungs of the ladder.

In conclusion, the maritime dimension of 'Make in India' needs organisational and infrastructural paradigm changes, which are well within the capabilities of the political leadership.

Change we must. 'Foot prints in the sands of time are not made by sitting on our haunches'