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2 ARTICLE 1 - The Defence Procurement Policy 2016 made public this week is a step forward in increasing the participation of India s private sector in military manufacturing. It replaces the last DPP unveiled in 2013, and has several recommendations for improving indigenous procurement. The DPP, the governing manual for all defence procurement, was part of a set of military reforms undertaken to address the many deficiencies noticed during the 1999 Kargil war. Since the first one in 2002, the DPP has been revised periodically. The new policy places the highest preference to a newly incorporated procurement class called Buy Indian-IDDM, with IDDM denoting Indigenous Designed Developed and Manufactured. This category refers to procurement from an Indian vendor, products that are indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with a minimum of 40 per cent local content, or products having 60 per cent indigenous content if not designed and developed within the country. The policy has also liberalized the threshold for offset liabilities for foreign vendors now the obligation to invest at least 30 per cent of the contract value in India will kick in at Rs.2,000 Crores, a significant increase from the previous Rs.300-crore mark. The policy lays stress on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and on Make in India. A 10 per cent weightage has been introduced for superior technology, instead of selecting the lowest bidder only in financial terms. DPP 2016, however, falls far short of the expectations raised by the Narendra Modi government s ambitious Make in India push that aims to transform the country into a global manufacturing hub. India is the world s largest importer of defence equipment, and indigenizing production is key to such a plan. The DPP is noticeable for the absence of Chapter VII, titled Strategic Partners and Partnerships, which the Defence Minister said would be notified separately. Under Strategic Partnerships, select Indian private companies were to be given preferential status in major defence projects. The inability of the Centre to finalize a credible policy to radically increase indigenous military manufacturing is a sure sign that India will remain heavily dependent on defence imports. Given the country s robust financial growth, one of its greatest leveraging points is the annual spend on procurement. India has all the necessary prerequisites for a robust military-

3 industrial complex: a diverse private sector, a large base of engineering institutes, and a growing defence budget. The fact that India faces a combination of security threats from both state and non-state actors is an obvious reason why it needs to be self-reliant in military equipment. There is another important reason why India needs an indigenous military-industrial complex: it will significantly reduce the potential for corruption in military procurement. However, the new procurement policy does not inspire hope that domestic defence production will grow sufficiently. It may not be just an irony that the policy has been released as India hosts yet another Defexpo event, in Goa, where global vendors are hawking their war machines to a technologically famished Indian military. Defence = Protection from harm, ह फ जत करन Procurement = Occupation of acquiring military equipment, व यवस य, खर दन Participation = Participation, ह स द र Manufacturing = making something from Raw material, औदय ग क, ननर ण Unveiled = uncover, expose, अन वसरण Recommendation = quality that gains acceptance, स फ ररश, ववसश षत Indigenous = originating form its origin, स वस दश Manual = requiring human efforts, ननयर, थ बन य आ Address = to speak to, म ब ग त करन Deficiencies = Scarcity कसर य Revised = Amendment श न

4 Periodically = in a sporadic manner, ननश च त र य र य पर Preference = Priority, प र थसर कत Incorporated = include, य क त, श म र स त Liberalized= become more liberal, उद र बनन Threshold = A point of beginning or entering, द ज, खट Offset = an amount नर सश Liabilities = legally responsible for something, द नयत वस Obligation = duty, commitment, कर त व य Enterprise = A business or company, कह न क य Bidder = one who makes an offer, ब न वस However = whereas, कक, ज भ Expectations = hope, उम र द Raised = lifted, उन ननत Ambitious = strong determination to succeed, असभ ष Hub = centre, क द र Importer = one who imports, आयत करन वस Equipment = apparatus, औज र, उपकरण

5 Noticeable = easily seen, clear, ध य न द न य ग य Strategic = planned things, रणन नत Separately = not together, अ अ Inability = being unable to do something, अय ग यत Credible = able to be believed, convincing, ववसचवस न य Radically = with the root of, र र प Robust = strong and rich in smell, द ढ़, र जब त Leveraging = to maximize advantage, भ उ न Annual= yearly, वस वष क Necessary = essential, आवसचयक Prerequisites = necessary condition, आ र, प आवसचयकत Combination = merging of different parts or quality, न Threats = problems, र स य ए Obvious = manifest, clear, ज़ ह र,प रत यक ष Corruption = fraudulent, भ रष ट र Sufficiently = enough, plenty, पय प त र त र र Irony = a situation having different result, ववसड बन

6 Famished = extremely hungry for achieving something, क छ प न क भ ख ARTICLE - 2 The recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra by Syrian government forces marks one of the biggest setbacks for the Islamic State since the group announced its Caliphate in June It also demonstrates the continued weakening of the IS on the battleground. It lost about 14 per cent of the territory in Iraq and Syria last year, including the city of Ramadi, to Iraqi troops. Several factors have been at play in structurally weakening the IS over the past few months. The tide started turning against it when in June it lost Tal Abyad, a strategically important town on the Turkish-Syrian border, to Kurdish rebels. The town was one of the IS s main access points for smuggling in weapons, materiel and fighters. Turkey s move to tighten its long and porous border with Syria after jihadists began attacking Turkish cities and international pressure mounted on Ankara, squeezed the IS s cross-border supply lines. Pointed U.S. air strikes on the group s oil infrastructure and training camps too weakened it both financially and organizationally. But the final blow came from Russia. From the beginning of its intervention in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin kept saying that the best answer to the terrorists in Syria would be the restoration of statehood. This is what Russia achieved in Syria. Five months of Russian intervention has bolstered the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, raised the morale of its troops and helped it make major advances on the ground. The ceasefire in Syria, which led to a partial suspension of the fighting with the rebels, may also have helped government forces to use their resources more effectively. Palmyra is an instance that could be repeated in future battles against the IS: first weaken the organization through multiple attacks and then launch a final ground offensive by the most organized military force in this case the Syrian national army to recapture territories. For the IS, territory is important. It is its hold over territories that makes the IS different from other jihadist groups. The claim of establishing a Caliphate comes out of the territories it controls. So every time it loses land the Caliphate shrinks, weakening its terror machinery further. The fight against the IS will not be complete unless its core is destroyed. This is not an easy task, however. The

7 group seems to be deeply entrenched in Raqqa, its de facto capital. Mosul is still under its control. If the advances made in Ramadi and Palmyra are to be taken forward, there has to be coordination between the anti-is forces, including the U.S. and the Syrian army. President Assad is less of a threat than Abu Bakr al-baghdadi. Mr. Assad s fate could be decided through a political process, which is now under way, but not that of Baghdadi. Both the peace process in Syria between the regime and the rebels and the war on the IS in Syria and Iraq could continue simultaneously. The international community must help the Syrian and Iraqi governments continue their campaigns to free more territories from the IS. Recapture = taking something back, प न अग क र र न Ancient = Old, Former, प र न, प र न Setback = Problem, Complication, अ फ त, ब, Announced = Declare publically, Set forth, घ वषत करन, Caliphate = An area in the Islamic States, खख फत, Demonstrate = Manifest, Display, प रदसश त करन, Battleground = battlefield, य द क ष त र, Territory = A land under the jurisdiction of a ruler, भ खण ड, प र न त ज शशक क अ न Troops = Soldiers, Armed Forces, फ़ ज, नयदर त, Several = A number of, अन क प रक र Factors = A circumstance, fact, णक, खण ड, क रक,

8 Structurally = of relating to structure, र न त र क द श ष ट, Tide = periodic rise and fall in water, win, उथ प थ, प रवस, ववसजय न Strategically = planned, क टन नतक द श ष ट Access = ability, permission to approach, असभ र न, प Smuggling = to import or export goods illegally, तस कर करन, Tighten = to become tight, fasten, क न, सर त करन, Porous = weaken, full of pores, नछद रय क त, ख खर, Strike = to inflict, आक रर ण, दण ड करन Infrastructure = basic framework, अवस र र न, र भ त व यवसस थ ए Financially = to relate to dealing with money, आगथ क र प Blow = flurry, rush, प रस द, ववसद य त, वस भरन Intervention = involvement, स तक ष प, ब ब वस, Restoration = repair, makeover, र रम र त, नवस न करण, Statehood = the status of being recognized independent nation, र ज यपद Morale = enthusiasm, confidence, र न ब,, Ceasefire = to stop fighting, य द ववसर र Effectively = in such a manner as to achieve something, प रभ वस प ण ढ

9 Instance = an example, उद रण Offensive = causing someone to feel resentful, upset, or annoyed, अवप रय, आक र र क Establish = set up on a firm or permanent basis, ब ननय द ड न Shrink = Diminish, condense, स क ड़न, स र टन, प छ टन Further = more extreme, additionally, इ क अनतररक त Core = central, Principal, main, र र, र भ त, Destroyed = demolish, pull down, उज ड़ द न, न श करन, Seem = to appear to be, प रत त न, Entrenched = of an attitude, habit, belief, आर वपत न Regime = leadership, द र, क र त Rebel = the person who opposes against an established government, ववसद र, ब Simultaneously = at the same time, एक र य र Campaign = Struggle, the people when involving a specified type of fighting, असभय न, र र,