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Against the backdrop of the Ladakh stand-off and the war in Ukraine, a clear road map is in place for ammunition procurement and the requirement for 10 years has been finalized.
The aim is to build up ammunition stocks to desired levels, minimise imports and achieve self-sufficiency in the country.
A defence source in the know said - “First step is to indigenise all import-dependent ammunition — major platforms with long-term requirement.”
About 85% of the ammunition requirement has been indigenised, from both the public and private sectors, sources said.
As part of this, indigenisation of more than 30 variants, amounting to about ₹16,000 crores, is under way.
Five or Six variants of ammunition have been identified for production through the Indian industry.
This will expand the indigenous vendor base.
The sources said that about 85% of the ammunition has been indigenised, with a bulk of it being met by the Defence Public Sector Undertakings and the rest by the Indian industry.
Less than 10% is met purely through direct imports and there is also some amount of legacy platforms in small numbers that are in the process of being phased out.
The armed forces had undertaken major procurement and stocking of spares under the three rounds of emergency financial powers granted by the Defence Ministry.
The first time after the 2016 Uri terror attack in 2016.
Followed by the 2019 Balakot air strikes.
The 3rd was in 2020 stand-off with China in eastern Ladakh.
The fourth round of emergency procurement was completed recently.
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