Indian Army imports: The Make in India initiative’s indigenization of the defence sector has greatly reduced the Indian Army’s reliance on imports to satisfy its needs. Senior defence officials stated that the force has greatly benefited from the growth of the private-sector ammunition business.
The Indian Army has said that, except for a few types of ammunition that would not be economically feasible to produce domestically, it wishes to cease importing ammunition in the next few years.
“The Indian Army has set aside approximately Rs 20,000 crore in its budget to purchase ammunition for its current arsenal of combat systems. A few years ago, the military used to spend between 35 and 40% of its budget on foreign ammunition purchases.”Now, that requirement has been cut down to less than 10%, and we are looking to reduce it further in the next couple of years,” defense officials told ANI.
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According to the officials, the ammunition is indigenously made for a variety of military systems, including multiple grenade launcher systems, artillery guns, tanks, and air defense missiles.
Ammunition indigenization has reduced reliance on imports while also assisting the nation in growing its export market.
As per Business standard, the public sector’s Munitions India Limited (formerly the Ordnance Factory Board company) and the private sector’s Solar Industries Limited, Adani Defence, Hughes Precision, and SMPP Limited are a few of the industry partners that have assisted the Army in reducing imports.
There are also a lot of new businesses entering this market, which will help things get better yet.
Massive export orders for artillery shells have been coming in for the public sector company MIL, and the growing demand for these weapons worldwide has aided in the growth of other related companies.
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According to the officials, companies in both the public and commercial sectors are developing extremely high-precision guided artillery ammunition, which would be very beneficial for the artillery units of the Indian Army.
According to the officials, the nation’s increased production capabilities can assist in supplying all of the ammunition needed from domestic sources during emergencies.
