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Monday, July 10, 2006
Agni III and then GSLV for INSAT 4C - Are we learning enough from mistakes ? Predictably the rather unrelated back to back failures of two of the flagship programs of the Indian Space and Defense Research establishments, have raised questions in the minds of all right minded Indians if we are learning enough from our mistakes ? The Indian Missile Program, that captured the imagination of the country at large when the current President APJ Abdul Kalam was at its helm, has had many missteps and false starts in recent times. The test firing of the Agni-III had been ready for at least the last 18 months, but Indian news media outlets report that a variety of considerations have come into play, including hectic diplomatic activity with Washington over the civilian nuclear deal resulting in its posptponement. The Indian Defence Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee gave an interesting spin to the snag that developed in the missile's test firing.,He was quoted in media reports that "This is nothing abnormal, it is being looked into.” G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, was more upfront on the reasons for the failure of the GSLV calling it "one of the rarest phenomena." He also repeatedly stressed that the failure was not due to any design flaw saying that "This event took place after lift-off." The bigger dissapointment with the GSLV failure was the lost payload. On board the Insat 4C were 12 Ku band transponders that were to usher in a DTH revolution in the country. There was some consolation however with the Insat 4B due next year to be launched from French Guineau. While it is heartening to note that the defense science establishment is moving ahead with preparations for testing the two-stage solid-fuelled ballistic missile again, the question remains on how effective the current approach to indigenous technology development is. The Business Week Magazine in its cover story on July 10th had a rather contrarian take on how failure breeds success. The cover story profiles how the best companies across the globe embrace their mistakes and learn from them. The Indian Defense Research program in recent times has been shrouded in such secrecy that it has become hard to tell which direction it is headed. The 18 month wait to test this missile system is in itself symbolic of what politics of the day has done to Defense Research. The Business Week in its piece on Failures notes that not all failures are praiseworthy but intelligent failures -- those that happen early and inexpensively and that contribute new insights should be encouraged. For long strategic initiatives in India have been high on rhetoric and jingoistic pride and low on substantiative progress. With the ISRO joint venture Antrix and the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos we got a whiff of what is possible with Private-Public partnership. Clearly the Missile Program and other strategic defense initiatives could get a boost with effective private sector participation that cuts down on innovation cycle time and accelerates development and commercialization of new technologies. Back in 1997 the U.S. Defense Research Agency DARPA incidentally had compiled a voluminous document Published January, 1997, to chronicle the process by which DARPA technologies and concepts have transitioned into military capabilities for U.S. forces. There was one section which listed out projects taken up which had DUAL USE and transitioned to industry as well as military use. It was literally a what's what of Information Technology advancements from VLSI to TCP/IP. The Defense establishment benefitted and so did the Private Sector and the rest is of course history. The Manmohan Singh establishment as it totters between regional allies with a vision that does not extend beyond the calculus of caste has lost its strategic bearings. The Indo-US Nuke Deal was the notable exception. The bell seems to toll on this dispensation, atleast on the Prime Minister's moral and political authority to see his agenda through. The rats are deserting the sinking ship as evidenced by the op-ed columns from the Congress spin meisters in the Hindustan Times, with both Sanghvi and Pankaj Vora sounding the alarm bells. It is not just economic reforms but strategic initiatives which are bearing the brunt of this spineless dispensation at the Center. The Government however seems to be in no danger of collapse unless the Communists are motivated to withdraw support. The only scenario Offstumped foresees this could happen is if President Kalam and the Election Commission where to act on the Office of Profit Issue and disqualify the communist MPs. Until then fingers crossed on the future of our strategic defense initiatives, Offstumped will be watching. -- OffStumped For All Things Right of Center, Bringing a Right of Centre Reality Check to Indian Politics, News Media Reporting and Opinion through Blogs and Podcasts. -- Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by Yossarin at 10:37 PM |
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