ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by setting out the basic size and shape of India's military and trends in its development. It explores some of the most pressing questions confronting the military today: its relationship to the civilian leadership and that between service arms; readiness and standards; and the enduring problem of limited war under Pakistan's low nuclear thresholds. The chapter describes how the role of power projection has evolved in India's thinking about defence and India's practical experience. The rebalancing between Indian services represents a gradual and modest shift in India's defence posture, favouring more outward-facing forces better configured for power projection. The UN provides assistance with peacekeeping logistics through its Department of Field Support, including a permanent logistics base, in Italy. India deployed forces to Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force between 1987 and 1990, which was 60,000-strong at its peak. In the late 1980s, India undertook a limited intervention in the Maldives, named Operation Cactus.
