395 Task cut out: Under General Rawat as the CDS, efforts are afoot to modernise the defence forces. PTI Amit Cowshish and Rahul Bedi Ex-Financial Adviser, acquisition, MoD | Senior Journalist Influenced by India’s vocal strategic community, obsessed largely with abstract notions regarding modernisation of the country’s military, successive governments have impetuously taken steps to usher in half-baked ‘reforms’ to these ends, with little effort to assess either their efficacy or implementability. Many such putative reforms have gained currency in recent months, following the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat in December 2019, primarily to effect military modernisation by readying the services to fight the 21st century techno-wars and to economise defence expenditure. The ongoing armed standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, since May 2020, has only exacerbated the government’s and General Rawat’s formidable security challenge as India’s military scrambles to counter the daunting threat posed by Beijing.