Category: Articles

The article highlights the critical need for effective MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) support for India’s defense forces, especially with active threats on its borders. It stresses the importance of addressing spare part shortages, capacity constraints, and industry reluctance, while integrating MRO support into joint operations. Lessons from the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts emphasize the importance of robust MRO for battlefield success. India must create capacity to maintain legacy, current, and future equipment, leveraging public-private partnerships and veterans’ expertise, to ensure readiness for both peacetime and wartime scenarios.

The article discusses the concept of Strategic Readiness (SR) and Military Effectiveness (ME), using current conflicts like the Gaza war and Ukraine war as examples. SR refers to a military’s ability to provide forces to meet strategic demands, assessing factors like manning, equipment, training, and logistics. ME measures a military’s competitive advantage in combat, requiring agility, technological superiority, and resilience. The text highlights how readiness degrades over time and the importance of technological dominance, soldier readiness, and operational capability. It stresses the need for innovation and resilience to counter surprises in modern warfare.

The Indian domestic airline capacity has grown faster than international capacity, averaging 8.7% annually ( between 2005-2024), compared to 6% global growth . The growth is likely to continue, leading to increased demand for services. Maintenance requirement will increase and the MRO of India will grow substantially. With the right kind of impetus by the Government, towards taxation, relaxation in land lease rates, drastic reduction in GST and skill development, MRO industry in India is at the cusp of taking a giant leap. Government of India’s policies, Industries overall growth, foreign collaboration, push towards synergy between civil and military all are being polarised for making India a destination for aviation MRO services. This article brings out certain historical facts, present state and various issues that need tweaking to fast forward the process.

Airpower plays a major role in a war and achieving the goals of war is unthinkable without having Air superiority over the adversary. In case of a prolonged conflict sustaining Air Superiority will depend on maintaining required number of Combat aircraft at all times. In an event of hostilities, the resources of Commercial Airlines and Railways are used for movement of men and material. However, using civil aircraft Maintenance and Repair organisations (MRO) during the war is not a case of ‘form fit and function’. To ensure availability of combat aircraft in required numbers, maximum permissible latitude in terms of flying hours and landings is used. In case of a prolonged conflict indiscriminate use of latitude will lead to sudden bunching of aircraft and any advantage gained till then can be lost. It is therefore essential that the resources of civil MRO are pooled in to reduce the turnaround time (TAT) and ensure that the minimum required aircraft are available in combat ready state. Civil-Military Co-operation in Aircraft MRO sector during peace time is essential to develop expertise and parallel facility that can fill up the capacity gap. GOI has given required push in its policies and approach for making India as an MRO Hub. A synergy amongst civil aircraft MRO and Military services is necessary. Both entities should interleave their annual task of maintenance in such a manner that in case of hostilities the Civil MROs add up to the required capacity. Close co-ordination between MoD and MoCA can help in laying down the policies and MROs can be used in times of National Security needs.

The article emphasizes a shift from traditional policy-driven approaches to creating enabling ecosystems for MSMEs in India. Policies often impose restrictive criteria that stifle innovation and limit competition. In contrast, ecosystem-based platforms like ONDC and GeM provide inclusive networks where businesses, regardless of size, can compete freely. This approach fosters innovation, improves quality, and drives better pricing. By focusing on building ecosystems instead of micromanaging through policies, India can unlock the true potential of MSMEs, creating a more dynamic and resilient economy where the best ideas thrive.

The article discusses the dangers of organizations operating within comfort zones and becoming echo chambers, where the same ideas are repeated without challenge. This is particularly risky in fields like education and manufacturing, where staying connected to real-world developments is crucial. Higher education institutions need to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical applications by engaging with industry professionals. In manufacturing, competition drives innovation and prevents stagnation. To remain relevant and successful, organizations must embrace change, foster new ideas, and continually reinvent themselves through real-world engagement and competition.

The article emphasizes the importance of collaboration in education, training, and innovation. It highlights that many organizations have overlapping capabilities, leading to inefficiencies and resource wastage. The proposed solution is to create collaborative networks, such as Training and Innovation Networks, that allow organizations to pool their resources and expertise. By connecting these organizations through automated systems, they can work together toward common goals, avoid duplication, and maximize impact. The vision is to create a “system of systems” where organizations collaborate seamlessly, resulting in more efficient operations, better responses to emerging needs, and greater innovation.