NEW DELHI: Efforts of the Armed Forces in pursuit of indigenous procurement have been a growth driver for domestic procurement and production of weapons, laying a strong foundation for a competitive global defense industry, chief of army staff General Manoj Pande said on Friday.
“Self-sufficiency today is vital towards national development… ‘swadeshikaran se sashaktikaran (through empowerment localization)’ is the bedrock upon which our capacity building efforts are crystallizing,” said Gen. Pande. Take for instance, the Army with one point two million personnel has 340 indigenous defence industry companies is operating on 230 contracts by 2025, requiring an expenditure of about Rs 250 crore.
Furthermore, apart from encouraging self-reliance in terms of weapon systems and equipment acquisition, the Army is also buying more ammunition and spare parts indigenously thereby saving much on import bills. “We want to stop importing different types of ammunition within few years with few exceptions,” said one official.
The Army’s ammunition inventory consists of 175 different types and calibers of ammunition out of which DRDO and defense PSUs have indigenized 134. With assistance from private industry, an indigenization plan with timelines has been prepared for imported ammunitions,” added the official.