'Max output, min budget': When Gen Bipin Rawat spelt out strategy for Forces' modernisaton

In a tragic accident, India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat lost his life along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board. According to a statement released by the Indian Air Force, he was heading towards Wellington in Tamil Nadu to participate in a program when the unfortunate accident happened before the helicopter could land in a safer area. However, with the tragic death, the nation remembers his every word which is apt to motivate future generations. While speaking about 'guarding The nation' at

"The safety, honour and welcome of the country always come first; the safety, honour and welcome of the menu command always come next; and your own ease, safety and comfort come last."

General Rawat, who had served the defence forces for more than four decades, knew the capabilities and every requirement that is critical to compete with the enemies comes in the way. Since he took the charge of Chief of Army Staff on 31 December 2016, the experts opined General Rawat had started working on the modernisation of the Armed Forces on the very first day. However, he had a staunch belief that India is well capable to meet the military arms and ammunition requirements within the country. Earlier, India exports maximum defence requirements from Russia and the United States. However, since General Rawat took charge, he always tried to minimise the dependency on other countries. During the Republic Media Summit, he had said,

"There is a budget for every project and the defence forces have also an allotment. As a leader, your main role is to provide maximum output with a minimum budget. And to fulfil this wish, we need to minimise the dependency on other countries." 

IAF chopper crash 

The people onboard the IAF helicopter included CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Defence Assistant to CDS Brigadier LS Lidder, SO to CDS Lt. Col. Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Havaldar Satpal that crashed before landing at the destination. The accident occurred between Coimbatore and Sulur at about 12.30 pm, sources said. It is learnt that the Chief of Defence Staff was travelling to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington for a lecture which was scheduled to be held at 2.45 pm.