No gaps in defence preparedness, govt tells Parliament committee

Hindustan Times

6 hours ago

NEW DELHI: There are no gaps in India's defence preparedness and efforts have been made to ramp up logistical provisions for the armed forces, a Parliamentary committee was informed on Tuesday, said people aware of the details. The committee was also informed about India's Indian Ocean Strategy and the efforts being made to secure the seas, in the wake of strategic challenges such as threats to maritime traffic, piracy and terrorism and China's growing footprint in the region said people quoted above.
Several lawmakers raised the issue of expatriation of Indians stuck in war-torn Iran.
At a meeting, of the standing committee on external affairs chaired by Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor that was attended by lawmakers and senior officials of the ministries of defence and external affairs, the government put forth that how India is prepared to secure its land, skies and seas.
According to a person privy to the details, while there was no discussion on Operation Sindoor, India's military response against terror camps in Pakistan, lawmakers sought to know details about the country's preparedness for war and attacks and whether adequate provisions have been made to provide arms and equipment for the armed forces.
'There were some questions on whether our allocation for the defence budget is adequate...whether we are prepared if Pakistan ups the ante. Government officials said we are ready and well equipped,' said the person, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Tharoor said the discussion was on an ongoing subject of India's Indian Ocean Strategy, which is a foreign policy subject that has important defence dimensions. 'We also had the Defence Secretary and the Navy present to brief us. The discussion was outstanding. We spent more than two and a half hours in serious conversation on various aspects, which you will see in the report submitted to Parliament...' he told ANI.
Tharoor, who recently led a delegation of lawmakers to USA, Panama, Brazil and Colombia as part of a diplomatic outreach on Operation Sindoor said "... All of this (Blue Water Navy) was discussed... The whole idea of the Blue Water Navy, our military capacity beyond that, everything was thoroughly discussed. Operation Sindoor was not discussed, but some of the elements that became apparent during that confrontation came up in conversations..."
On PM Modi's visit to Canada for the G7 Summit, Tharoor said, "The G7 are no longer the seven largest economies in the world because India and China are there and should be part of the G7 by that logic. But still, they're very influential countries. They have very good coordination amongst themselves. And for our Prime Minister to have an opportunity to talk to them, to have a role with them, to let his concerns be shared with them is always very important. There's nothing that we need to worry about. I'm sure that while the Prime Minister is there, very important conversations will take place, and we'll hear about them when the Foreign Secretary is back from the trip..."
Several lawmakers raised the issue of the Israel-Iran conflict and the impact it has on the Indians stranded in Iran. 'There was at least one MP who said India has not issued a statement on the conflict...'
AIMIM lawmaker Assadudin Owaisi is also learnt to have sought help for the return of 133 Hyderabad residents from Iraq. 'He said these people, mostly Shia Muslims are stranded because of air space restrictions and the Indian embassy in Kuwait should provide them e-Visas to be able to travel there and then get on to flights to India,' said a second person aware of the details.
On India's commitment to the well-being and progress of nations of the Indian Ocean, the lawmakers were informed that the objective was to promote greater prosperity in the region and making the Indian Ocean a free, open and inclusive space.