It is fashionable to curse Rajiv Gandhi for Bofors and more, but the truth is that 1985-89 was the only period in our history when weapons acquisitions were proactive and futuristic.
theprint.in
Most of the purchases may well have been done in the Pappu Sr era but they were mostly negotiated for or initiated during IGs era.
Clutterji is devastating in his punchline & this is an indictment on Leaderji's defence policies. Apart from gestures & anodyne statements every Diwali or Dusshera where he marches off to remote locations to spend time with them being filmed to glory by every news channel in India he's actually not reformed the system SUBSTANTIALLY in any way whatsoever.
To make matters worse the only one effective DM he's had in his cabinet the late MP bolted to Goa the first chance he got with the result his predecessors or successors have mostly been place holders reflecting in the policies & actions of the MoD.
Apparently talk is the MRFA tender is to be revived . Furthermore defence reforms will entail that procurement procedures lasting a decade or more will now HAVE to be closed in a couple of years at the most , Israel style , where no requirements last for more than 2-3 years meaning that official requirements once issued by the armed forces are met either thru local mfg or by buying from external sources within 2-3 years.
Marry the 2 together & you could have an agreement on the MRFA by 2028 whereas we're supposed to go up against China by 2030 .
Why wasn't this done all these years then especially since the previous ACM Chaudhari was adamant he wanted the MRFA tender expedited ?
Shows us the seriousness of this administration on such a critical matter of one of the arms of our forces confronted as we are by 2 N powers at our borders where those borders are live & expected to get more alive if there's such a term or livelier , in the next few years.
Absolutely pathetic state of affairs !
. HAL is just lead integrated for MK1A with all major sub systems are manufactured by private partners. HAL is ready to give up assembly lines to private players for MK2 production and for AMCA private players wasted 3 years and now govt back to HAL but govt still trying for PPP. 
