In recent years, India has moved to near the top of the list in terms of dynamic defence marketplaces. However, winning a defence programme in India is a process that is both extremely time consuming and frustrating. India has managed to develop a procurement system where the objective is to confuse and confound both the end user and those trying to meet the needs of the end user! This article looks at the procurement system and the Indian Army in detail. The Indian Army is an immense institution, its active personnel strength numbers some 980,000 troops, with first-line reserves numbering some 300,000 troops. To this can be added second-line reserve troops and the Territorial Army. The need for ground forces of this size is easy to justify when one takes into account the fact that the land borders of India amount to 13,888 kilometres. The states along India's borders consist of six countries; Bangladesh (4,142km), Bhutan (659km), China (2,659km), Myanmar (1,468km), Nepal (1,770km), and Pakistan (3,190km). India has border disputes with four of these countries, it is hosting refugees from two of them, and has fought wars against two of them. If India had only to face threats from state actors then the task facing the Indian Army would be so much clearer, conventional operations remain a straightforward task. Unfortunately, two of the nations along India's borders are nuclear powers (China and Pakistan), which adds a whole new level of complexity to security planning.
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