Indian Military

[Hyderbadi]

The Indian Navy is the 4th largest navy in the world, but it is in need of more submarines and, if it wants to compete with the British and US navies, it will need more advanced air craft carriers and a larger number of destroyers and frigates. The IN is already constructing its own aircraft carrier(India is one of the 4 nations that has the ability ot do so) and it is refitting a Russian carrier. It is also in the process of building 19 other ships. I feel India should either try to purchase larger carriers from teh US(provided that there is a transfer of technolgoy) or France and also construct more of its own carirers. I also feel it should hurry up with its purchase of new submarines from France and that it sohuld increase the production of destoryers and frigates. This way, India will have control over the Indian ocean and it will be able to protect all of its assets from China(the IN has much better technolgoy the the CHinese navy, but hte Chinese navy has way more ships). Overall, this will beenfit the Indian economy by creating many jobs(since the construction of a ship requires hundreds, if not thousands, of workers). I also think the govenrment should increase the overall defence budget. Our military is the 2nd most powerful in Asia, but we still ahve a very low defence budget, and most of it goes to teh airforce. The army needs more tanks and apcs and if it does not get more in the next couple of years, even Pakistan will have more tanks(which will not be good for national security). India has the 4th highest purchasing power in the world and it should be able to upgrade its defence budget, but hte government i the ultimate burocracy and it is working very slowly these days. What do you guys think? '

[hehehewalrus]

I think its a good idea.

Can we call the panchayat to discuss it in detail?

[j.chenkalvarayan]

we are already spending huge amount of money for defence.and it is everincreasing.and i think its the the indian army which gets the lions share and not the indian airforce.

[Hyderbadi]

Our defence budet is around 4% of our GDP(thats 30 or 40 billion, which is very good..but a lot of the moeny seems to go to waste). The army is falling behind when it comes to tanks. We have thousands of T-72s, over 300 T-90s(400 more are to be built), 125 Arjun MK. 1 and 1400 or so T-55 and Vijayanta tanks, both of which are very old. The Israelis offered the IA their Merkava Mk.3 tank which is supposed to be one of the best tanks in the world, it is combat proven and it costs less than the Arjun tank. I kind of wish the IA had purchased a thousand or more of those tanks, it would make China and Pakistan think twice before starting a land war. I don't understand why the IA is so slow when it comes to tank procurements, tanks are relatively cheap compared to other defence products(such as airplanes, ships and radars) and they can easily be produced in India with a transfer of tech.

[hehehewalrus]

nothing kills a debate better than stats

[j.chenkalvarayan]

technology is available for only those who have it. since already india has advanced fighter aircrafts like sukhoi we are being offered F16s.i agree we can't sit simply doing tapas when we have neighbours such as pakisthan,china,but investing in armaments is not going to get us anywhere. we should aim at improving the quality of life for the downtrodden.

[Hyderbadi]

Yes, definetly...but, we won't get anywhere if the rest of the world continues to think of India as a weak country that opposes enemies by conducting hunger strikes, etc. Also, the poverty rate in India is decreasing now.

As for the whole F-16 thing, i think it would be economic and political suicide to buy something that significant from the US. We would become militarily dependant on a country that is known to be untrustworthy. We have developed great tech, but for some reason the military does not believe in it and it does not want to purchase it in large numbers. The Arjun Mk.1 is a great tank, but the army is unwillin to modify its war doctrine to include the tank.

[j.chenkalvarayan]

i don't know why the moderators have removed the word saala. its the hindi equivalent for machaan,machi.i always use that to address my north indian friends.that's why even hyderabadi aka hindusthani ladka didn't complain. anyways i'll refrain from using that word again.

[Hyderbadi]

lol, since when was i north Indian?

[stranger]

Yes, definetly...but, we won't get anywhere if the rest of the world continues to think of India as a weak country that opposes enemies by conducting hunger strikes, etc.

What do you mean?

Are you criticizing Gandhi's approach or what?



Also, the poverty rate in India is decreasing now.

Really?!

Must be decreasing in Africa too!

So, that suggests what? I think people get "less hungry" than they used to! :roll:

What do you think?

Do u think HIV helped us or something to bring down the poverty?! :roll:

[Badri]

i don't know why the moderators have removed the word saala. its the hindi equivalent for machaan,machi.i always use that to address my north indian friends.that's why even hyderabadi aka hindusthani ladka didn't complain. anyways i'll refrain from using that word again.

Saala is not quite the equivalent of Machi, JC! It is often used in a derogatory manner! In a very informal setting, it can be used as a friendly greeting, and that is because it is assumed everyone knows you in that setting. It is advisable to not use it in a public Forum.

[Hyderbadi]

Yes, definetly...but, we won't get anywhere if the rest of the world continues to think of India as a weak country that opposes enemies by conducting hunger strikes, etc.

What do you mean?

Are you criticizing Gandhi's approach or what?



Also, the poverty rate in India is decreasing now.

Really?!

Must be decreasing in Africa too!

So, that suggests what? I think people get "less hungry" than they used to! :roll:

What do you think?

Do u think HIV helped us or something to bring down the poverty?! :roll:

Yeah, it is decreasing in Africa actually. The situation in Africa is better than it was 10 years ago. The population of India is becoming more wealthy every day. India's economy is booming and India is set to be a superpower. Also, i'm not criticising Gandhis approach...but in the international world, when a country messes with your country, you will be looked down upon if you do not respond strongly.

As for the HIV issue, the percentage of people who have HIV in India is the same as the percentage of people in the US who have HIV. The HIV issue is very bad, but the western media over exagerates the situation.

Have you noticed how India's middle class is growing? The majority of the population is now part of the middle and upper class and the number of people in the lower class is decreasing slowly. The only problem is that with over 240 million poor people to help, the Indian government lacks the funds to help everyone and it requires a lot of help from foreign organizations.

Also, have you noticed that the wealthiest community in the US is the Indian community. No other community in the US, other than the Chinese community is even close. If people who come to America with basically nothing can be among the wealthiest Americans, people in India should be able to do the same slowly.


Seriously, do you really think India has been getting worse in the past few decades?

[blahblah]

lol, since when was i north Indian?

Can this be HLadka himself?Why does his signature line appears to be Hindustani Ladka?Is it permissible on forumhub to have more than one id???? :D

Bye Hindi Ladka!How are you doing among those Pakis? :wink:

[Uthappam]

Why the military - does India need that?

[Hyderbadi]

Why the military - does India need that?

Yes, If it wants to remain a major world power and if it wants to protect it self from the terrorists that are constantly trying to penetrate its borders and if it wants to protect itself from China and Pakistan(not necesarilly the Pakistani military...the thousands of terrorists that are coming into India from Pakistan aare a major threat...and another threat is that the terrorists could over thrtow Musharraf and get access to Pakistani aircraft, missiles, etc and use them agaisnt India.) The only way to protect India is to have a strong military. Having a strong military deos not mean India will have to go to war needlessly, but it will deter countries like China and Pakistan from starting any trouble.