IAF chief Amar Preet Singh expresses dissatisfaction about defence projects delay affecting preparedness

New Delhi – Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh expressed his disappointment, yet again, while addressing a conference in the national capital. He stated that not following schedules is a major problem. Preparedness for war gets affected as defence projects don’t get completed on time. Wars are won when our armed forces are fortified. It is our responsibility to strengthen them. Prior to this, the IAF chief had voiced his concerns about the Tejas combat aircraft.

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh further said that once a timeline is given, not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. So this is something we must look at. Why should we promise something which cannot be achieved? While signing the contract itself, sometimes we are sure that it is not going to come up, but we just sign the contract. This affects the entire system.

The Indian Air Force, which signed a ₹48,000 crore contract in February 2021 for Tejas Mk-1A jets, was originally slated to receive the aircrafts by March 2024; but not a single aircraft has been delivered so far. We have to be ‘now-ready’ to be ‘future-ready’. In 10 years, we will have more output from our industry, but what we need today, we need today. Once we make a promise we should fulfil it

Editorial Perspective

Public Sector Undertakings never complete their work on time. It is noticed that just as their delay affects the common people, it also  affects the defence forces. Hence it is necessary for the Government to ensure that Defence Projects are completed on time.