Confronted with crippling operational shortages in ammunition stocks that would not last even 10 days of “intense fighting”, the defence ministry and Army are now finalizing a Rs 15,000 crore long-term plan to get the domestic private sector to manufacture seven different types of ammunition.

The aim is to develop capability in the private sector companies, which can set up joint ventures with foreign manufacturers, to bridge the gaps in the production capacity of the 41 factories of the Ordnance Factory Board. “This indigenization of ammunition production over a 10-year time-frame will gradually reduce our heavy import dependence,” said a senior official.

AFP/Representational Image