Wikileaks: Indian Army dismisses US perception it is ‘slow and lumbering’

He also dismissed Roemer’s description of the Indian Army’s mobilisation process as “slow and lumbering”,saying that was “his perception” with which he does not agree.

“We don’t necessarily agree with that perception. We know what has to be done,” General Singh underlined.

He said the Indian Army has “things in place” and,”We practice our contingency depending on situations. We are confident that we will be able to exercise the contingency when the time comes.”

Asked about the slow process of modernisation of the Armed forces,General Singh explained that this is mainly due to procedures and the fact that authorities want to be cautious to ensure nothing goes wrong.

General Singh said: “We are aware the modernisation process is subject to procedures of procurement. It takes at least two years,sometimes it may take more because somebody raises an issue about a company – that this company is doing this and that. It may be blacklisted. It happened in the case of Bofors. Procedurally,we have problems because this is a democracy and nobody wants to take a chance.”

To a question whether with all these problems India could be called a fighting force,he asserted,”100 per cent. We are capable of achieving what we want.”

He said no force anywhere could have 100 per cent modernisation. “Anywhere,ideally,30 per cent will be old legacy,30 to 40 per cent will be in the process of modernisation and another 30 to 40 per cent will be totally modernised..”

The Army chief said in a big country like India,it will take time because of manufacturing and other issues.

“All that I can say is whatever we have,whether it is old or otherwise,we are still capable of what we want to achieve,” he emphasised.