Vishwas Kumar asked: Why 50 per cent of the Indian Navy has surpassed 20 yrs service life, as per the CAG 2013 report? How will it impact our defence preparedness?

Sarabjeet Singh Parmar replies: This is due to the delay in procurement of equipment, weaponry and ships to replace the ageing and obsolete inventory held by the Indian Navy. The term ‘ship’ here also covers other assets like submarines and aircraft (both manned and unmanned). The impact on defence preparedness could be seen under the three prisms of a ship’s ability to float, move and fight. All three are impacted by ageing of assets and equipment fit. The impact of ageing could be viewed under two broad aspects: Technological Advantage: The advantage of a ship over its adversary is dependent on its ability to detect first and shoot faster and further. In today’s age of fast evolving technologies, this aspect though an expensive issue is factored in the plans and is often hampered by delays in procurement. Inordinate delays in turn not only increase the cost but also affect the efficacy of the procured equipment as it could have been surpassed by another available technology. Failure Rate: Ageing increases the failure rate, thereby affecting not only the availability of the asset and/or equipment, but also impinges on the cost of repairs and confidence level in the capability of the assets or equipment. Posted on June 23, 2014