Group Captain Vinay Kaushal (Retd) was commissioned in the Accounts Branch of IAF in July 1975 and superannuated in May 2010. He held varied appointments in field formations, staff appointments at Air HQs and instructional appointment in training formation during his service career where he made substantial contributions in enhancing the level of services provided and changing the procedures through innovative methods to bring about efficiency and cost savings. He was commended by AOC-in-C Eastern Air Command in 1991 and by the Chief of Air Staff in 1998. For his distinguished services of very high order, he was conferred the Presidential award of Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006. He refined the costing of major activities of IAF and piloted the use of “Cost of Ownership’ model and “Life Cycle Cost” for acquisition. Presently he is Consultant with IDSA.
Estimating India’s Defence Manpower
India needs to have a public version of defence manpower database as part of its annual budgetary document. This would facilitate greater understanding and analysis of any possible manpower-related reforms in the future.
Defence Pension: A Comparative Study of India, US and UK
Given the rapidly rising pension liability in India and the concern expressed by the CDS, the experiences of the US and the UK could be useful in carrying out pension reforms in India.
Public Private Partnership: A Model for Army’s Base Workshops
The PPP model helps in improving the productivity and exploiting the full potential of asset-based services that base workshops provide. This is particularly relevant when there exists a competitive market and a benchmark for the army between an in-house and an external solution.
Should the Legacy of Capital Budget Revenue Procedure (CBRP) Be Perpetuated in Draft DPP 2020?
Draft DPP 2020 provisions that continue to enable Capital Budget Revenue Procedure (CBRP) must be revisited.
Refining Draft DPP 2020: Some Suggestions
Draft DPP-2020 marks a paradigm shift from the past in many respects. It contains several new features intended to hasten the procurement process and provide a further fillip to the Make in India initiative in defence.
Defence Budget 2020-21
The slowdown in economic growth not only seems to have cast its shadow on the allocation of the defence budget for 2020-21 but has also compounded the challenges for the country’s first CDS.
The Acquisition of Rafale Aircraft: Facts and Concerns That Ought To Be In the Public Domain
The acrimonious debate in the public space on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft has been primarily focused on a few issues. The debate does not inform the public about the long, arduous and complex nature of the programme and the joint effort invested in it. The uniqueness of this programme is also not in the public domain. It does not specifically inform the lay person as to the rationale for restricting the numbers to two squadrons, and carries on oblivious of the collateral effect it may have on future acquisition programmes.
MMRCA Mess and the Need for Professionalism in the Defence Acquisition Process
The CAG report relating to the Indian Air Force has highlighted various anomalies and the unprofessional manner in which defence acquisitions are handled.
Defence Budget 2019-20: The Slide Continues
Defence capability building and capability sustenance have been adversely affected over the past decade because of inadequate allocations and the status quo approach of the Defence Services.
The Need for a Mid-Term Review of the 13th Defence Five Year Plan
The Defence Planning Committee needs to activate its ‘Plan and Capability Development’ Sub-committee and task them to review the 13th Defence Plan in a time bound manner.