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'Every system resist change'
genadmacm : admiral, so will admiral sushil kumar
finally be appointed as india's first CDS?? babulal : Good evening Sir. Is the CDS going to be similar to the chairman, joint chiefs of staff, of the US military forces? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Yes and No. HE will be the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee but unlike the American chairman, JCS, he will not have operational control over the armed forces. He will be the coordinator of all plans and programmes leading to force development and will coordinate joint operations, training and education. He will also be the administrative controller of the Strategic Command as and when that is formed. general : Sir given that it is the army that is actually doing all the fighting and most of the security work, shd not the cds be an army chap??? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : No, I do not think that is necessary. The CDS function is a larger one involving long term force development and in the environment of today the Navy and the Air Force are as relevant in the national security business as the Army. So it does not really matter which service the CDS come from. admiral : Good Evening! Why did Admiral Kumar withdraw from the race? Can he still be appointed? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : I really have no idea. In any event since the job has not been offered yet how does one withdraw from it. I see no reason why government cannot appoint anyone they wish to. Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Hello. I am here to answer your questions and sort out your doubts and hope we will have a pleasant interaction. airchiefmarshal : Are not nuclear weapons always under the control of the air force and the navy? So why is India looking at keeping it with the army? Will that not hamper our strategic manueuvribility? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The actual director and controller of the nuclear decision is going to be the Prime Minister and obviously there is going to be a chain of command. The control of weapons weather on land, in the air or at sea may vest with the individual service and in due course with the strategic command. I am not sure that there is any proposal to keep any weapons under the Army, or any service specifically. mahi : Sir, why do most of our weaponries are russian made? Why can't we produce them in India? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : We are producing the Delhi class destroyers which are among the best ships of that type produced anywhere. We have also produced most sophisticated sonar system for our ships. So there is reason to believe that we are progressing. amtu : I mean is it possible to include President directly in defence deals more then 100 crore rupees? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The President of India is only the notional head in so far as defence procurement is concerned. THe actual business is done by the competent person to whom authority is delegated and generally even the largest deals are signed on behalf of the government by the Defence Secretary after approval of the Raksha Mantri, or Prime Minister depending upon the amount. The President does not come in the picture. babulal : But Sir, that was how the American JCS chairman used to be until the mid-1980s. Then they found that having a chairman of the defence forces with no powers except to act as a postman between the defence secretary and the armed forces chiefs was meaningless. So they gave him operational control and independence. You may be aware that current Secretary of State Colin Powell was the first chairman to enjoy these powers. Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : I am sure a time will come when our CDS will have powers not much different to that of the American chairman presently has. But for the time being, it has been decided to give our CDS a force development role rather than an operational role. Obviously, the position will be reviewed frequently and changes made as required. Force development means control over money, and you can rest assured that the CDS who enjoys this power will not be a postman. sam : Good evening sir.Do think we need invest a lot on nuclear weapons when we are still fighting against poverty and unemployment Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The guns versus butter argument has gone on in every country from time immemorial. Every country has to draw a balance between how much it needs for its security needs and otherwise. Ultimately for countries to develop economically they need to have some assurance of security. THere is investment in nuclear weapons no doubt, but in the enviroment in which we are placed it is inescapable. amtu : Sir, have you seen PRADHAN MANTRI on Zee TV yet? If yes, what is your opinion about the war time events handdled by the director? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Yes, I have seen the serial on Zee TV and it is as good as the Yes, Minister series. I am not yet seen any version on war time events but I hope the director will cover them soon because they will be interesting. vasanth : Sir,Do u think the rift between India-China will come to an end Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : There is no rift between India and China as such. We have a historical problem which people are trying to resolve, admittedly with not much success. I suppose the dialogue has to continue and as our relative economical and other positions change the political equation will also have to be readjusted. joecherian : how much commision did u get in the deal? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Very little, Joe. Unless you think a cup of coffee is a lot. varun_27 : Can india ever become a corruption-free nation? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : It is very difficult to say anything but right now it looks an impossibility with every rung from the lowest upwards engaged in it. But we should not give up hope and contribute our own bit to avoid becoming part of the system. ashish1970 : The navy in india is a paper force I dont think it is in the run for carriage of nuclear weapons!!! Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : You need to ask some other navies of the world if the Indian Navy is a paper force. Fortunately, they all think differently. Our Navy is reasonably strong and can meet the tasks assigned to it. As for nuclear weapons, I do not see any on the horizon. vasanth : Sir,Is it true that IAF is a point of differences with GOI related to the appointment of CDS Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : There are bound to be different points of view on such an important matter. And such differences have been there in every country which has taken the CDS route. The main thing is that when a decision is taken it is implemented in the right spirit and with sincerity. And I am certain this will happen here also. indian : Sir,your comment abt 'admiral korshkov',the russian gift with price Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Until 1997 India had two aircraft carriers- the Vikrant and the Viraat. Unfortunately, Vikrant had to be phased out in 1997 and now we are left with only one. We must have a second aircraft carrier. One has been ordered to be built in India but will not be ready until 2010. In the meantime, we have to get a second ship and Gorshkov offers that possibility at a reasonably economical prize. The aircraft carriers are the crucial elements which give the Indian Navy a dominant position in these waters. nairnv : i have great respect to our defence personals Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Thank you. They do a very difficult job under very difficult conditions and without any care for their own safety or comfort. They need the good wishes of their countrymen. MAYUR : WILL THERE BE A VICE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF ALSO Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Yes, there will be a Vice Chief of Defence Staff who will really be the main coordinator of the entire Defence Planning and Coordination machinery. He will represent the Defence Forces in every coordination group and will head the Defence Crisis Management Organization. raman : why do we always go for second-hand russian equipment? I think buying russian made Migs (flying coffins) or ships is the greatest disservice you are doing for your country. Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The MIG aircraft is the one of the most successful designs of aeroplanes flawn anywhere. We have larger accidents in them because they constitute the largest numbers of aeroplanes in our Air Force. THere are also some regretable gaps in training because of not having a proper trainer, and something should be done to overcome this quickly. As far as ships and submarines are concerned what we have from Russia are comparable to any similar equivalents which could be available from anywhere else. raman : Is there any defence to to Pakistani Exocet Missiles? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Yes. The answer is to destroy the platform from which the missiles can be launched before the launch itself so we have to destroy the aeroplane or the ship or the submarnie where these missiles are fitted before they can launch them. And for this the aircraft carriers are absolutely essential. amtu : Sir, how does media serve our nation's armed forces? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The media plays and extremely important role because it takes the Armed Forces into your homes. YOu get to know what the people for whom you are paying your taxes are doing. Sometimes, some negative reports are there but we have to learn to live with them. abhishekgupta : sir how will the aquistion of latest augosta class submarines affect the battle strength of the indian navy Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The Agosta submarines are with Pakistan. We obviously have to take their capabilities into account while planning our own forces. But there is no reason to feel that we are not going to be able to tackle them just as we have tackled other Pakistani threats in the past. peri : sir would you consider allowing corporate , private industries to take part in defence research and development helpful as far as indian defence and security is concerned Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : You are absolutely right. We have a very competent private sector both in industry and in research and development, specially in information technology. We have to make much more use of their strength than we have done so far. And I am told that measures are already underway. surenhere : Does Indian defence burecuacry can rise to the demands of CDS functioning with much of interfences from politcal babus as it happeneds in past Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Every system resist change. And the Indian defence bureaucracy, as much as the military bureaucracy, will have to change with the times. If this does not happen willingly, I am sure, events will force it down, but there is reason to believe that despite media reporting the situation is moving along positively. girish : Do u think the navy will get its due under the CDS system with Army alwa wanting to be the Big brother? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : All the services will get their due under the CDS. Please do not forget that CDS is not a one man show, but an integrated organization of people from every service so it is very alarmist to fear that anyone service will suffer. narendra : Sir,In your opinion, is our Navy truly a professional Navy and if not steps needed to improve it Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : From what I know, our navy is by and large one of the most professional navies in the world. We should not get carried away by some aberrations which come to notice now and again. This is sad but it does not reflect on the general capabilities of the Navy as a whole. There is need to further strengthen our capability and it seems from the budget allocations that the government is of the same view. So you should expect to see a growth in naval capabilities in the years to come. sandy5671@rediffmail.com : HELLO SIR.WHAT IS THE NECESSITY TO MAKE cds? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Just like you have a managing director at the head of a board of directors you require a chairman at the head of the service chiefs. It is not possible for a person heading one service to also be the chairman effectively. Just as it is not possible for one of the directors to also be the managing director. The CDS will act as the principal military advisor to the political authority and will provide for the type of joint and integrated advice which the military environment of today requires. sridhar : If the Indian Navy is given 10 points, How many points do you give the Pakistani Navy?? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : 4. abhishekgupta : what is the indian navys reaction to the presence of chinese and american naval survey vessels in the indian oceons??????could u pls explain. Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The seas are international waters and anyone can move around anywhere so long as they don't come into our territorial waters. We do keep a watch on some movements which are of interst to us. If any transgression are made of our territorial waters or in our exclusive economic zone then we will do something. indian1 : Sir,What is the Role of Indian Navy in Gun trafficking in Burma,Bangladesh as mostof the weapons to NE militants enter thru Chittagong port as media reports? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : The Narcotics trade, the arms trade and terrorism are all inter-linked. India lies in the middle of two major narco centres. The Golden Crescent on the west and the Golden Triangle on the east. Much of this trade is being carried across by sea in our waters. The menace is becoming serious and it is important that the Indian Navy should be involved fully in countering it as Coast Guard alone does not have the capability. We also have to have cooperative arrangments with other literal countries to counter this illegal activity which can hit at the security of our contries as was seen in the Bombay blasts of 1993 when all the explosives had been smuggled in by sea. sbm : Sir, doesn't India move towards reverse engineering Russian SAMs, ASMs and AAMs to learn the technology the way China did ? Wouldn't it also provide a back up to possible embargos ? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : This is already being done in some way. The Trishul, Akash systems being developed by the DRDO are basically upgrades of the Russian versions and when operationlized will provide enhanced capability. amlan : hello sir when will be india complete making its nuclear submarine ?isn't it cheaper to one from abroad? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Everybody knows that there is a ATV programme which reportedly will lead to building of a nuclear-powered submarine indegenously. One hopes that this will happen in the next six to seven years because such submarines are essential in any credible naval force. For somethings, we have to have our own capability, and nuclear submarines are one such item. So I do not think it is adivisble to buy them from others and are unlikely to be avilable anyway. sandeep : WHY the heck dont we attack Pakistan instead of getting into talkes with them???????? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : Sandeep, we can select our friends but we cannot select our neighbours. Pakistan is here and so is India and neither is going to go away. So by decimating them we are not getting anywhere. Sooner or later, they will also realize this if they have not realized it already. But they have to know that if they do anything like they did in Kargil they are goin to be sufferers and not us. vaisal : Do u think that IFR 2001 was a success? Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : By any standard, the IFR was a outstanding success. It brought together in our country navies from 21 countries including their heads. I think they all had an exposure to what the Indian navy is and what its capabilities are. And this message taken back by them can only help the country's position and stature. Vice Admiral (retd) PS Das : I am sorry time is up and we have to say goodbye. So I will say what the French say when they bid goodbye: "Au revoir".
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