India, Nov. 3 -- It has become de rigueur for both incoming and outgoing chiefs of the Air Force to reiterate the urgent need to plug its hardware gap, which has left the service short on operational squadrons relative to its sanctioned strength. Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, too, has made his foremost taskthe rebuilding of the IAF's combat strength through indigenisation. Dixit's thrust on indigenisationneeds to be seen as a signal to Indian defence manufacturers to get their house in order in termsof timely deliveries and ingenuity. Inducting and operationalising the LCA Mk-1A is Dixit's immediate priority as the IAF's long-serving MiG-21s were finally mothballed last year. Deliveries of the aircraft by State-owned manufacturer HAL have been held up, ironically, by delayed engine imports. The IAF is to receive 180 LCA Mk-1A fighter jets from HAL in two tranches, with subsequent plans to procure the more advanced LCA Mk-2 versions to replace foreign-made jets such as the Jaguars, Mirage 2000s, and MiG-29s. The vision is simple: Reduce dependence on imports for critical needs and streamline the fighting portfolio by eliminating the potpourri of platforms. The diversity in the makes and models of IAF hardware has been the result of India's insistence on strategic autonomy, thus steering clear of any disproportionate reliance on a single platform. The government is right to give indigenous companies the mandate to supply the armed forces with their fighting machines, but this single-source system must not create the dependence India has always sought to avoid. More importantly, the push for indigenisation should not compromise fighting power. Modernisation and indigenisation need tobe complementary, not contradictory. For that, any slippage on the part of the suppliers needs tobe tackled with an equal and efficient zero-tolerance policy....