Recent Structural and Administrative Reforms in India’s Ministry of Defence

Linkages between Military and Civil Administration

Abstract

In August 1947 India’s independence led to the establishment of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) headed by a cabinet-level union minister with the military firmly under the control of the civilian leadership. In the past, there have been demands for reforms in defense, which had not been fructified for several decades. In the aftermath of the 1999 Kargil conflict, the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) recommended structural reforms in MoD. The Group of Ministers (GoM) analysed the structural and administrative reforms. The Chapter IV of the GoM report titled “Management of Defence” pointed to the need for “far-reaching changes in the structures, process and procedures in defence management.” In that context, the structural and administrative reforms of MoD, military affairs, security environment, and defence management have been a great debate since 2001. As India shifts to higher gears of growth and attain its maximum potential, there needs to be administrative reforms in defence as well. This paper will study India’s MoD and the patterns or nature of Civil-military relations. The paper also analyses the KRC and GoM which are responding to the great debate for structural and administrative reforms of India’s MoD. In particular, it will examine the recent reforms of MoD, the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and its linkages to the military and civil administration. The methodology will be adopted qualitatively to analyse the debate of reforms and the analytical method would critically examine the KRC report and the recommendation of GoM, which impacted the influence of military and civil administration in the MoD.