New Delhi, March 4 -- A top government committee on Monday recommended a raft of short and long-term measures to boost the capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF), which is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons, pointing out that it was critical to enhance self-reliance in the aerospace sector through increased participation of the private sector to fill critical gaps, officials aware of the matter said.

The committee's report, classified "secret", comes at a time when the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, has publicly flagged concerns about a worrying erosion of capabilities and called for urgent measures to address it.

Defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh presented the report of the empowered committee fo...