1361 Halting affair: Delay in modernisation hampers operational efficiency of the defence forces, which can compromise security. Reuters Amit Cowshish and Rahul Bedi Ex-Financial Adviser (Acquisition), MoD and Senior journalist The Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) interminable deadlines in concluding procurements of urgently-needed materiel is not at all surprising in a country that prides itself on timelessness and where the word for today and tomorrow — kal — is paradoxically the same. The equally enigmatic timelines of parson and tarson — the day after or the third day or thereabouts — remain similarly nebulous when it concerns the MoD’s snail pace in concluding pressing defence equipment buys. This, in turn, adversely impinges on the military’s operational efficiency and its long-postponed modernisation.