New Delhi, Mar 24: Days after Army vice-chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand red-flagged the imminent shortage of ammunition for the forces, considering the "two-front" threat posed to India, the government has given the approval to procure new assault rifles, light machine guns and close quarter battle carbines.

Defence Ministry sources while speaking to TOI said the Request For Proposals (RFPs) have been sent to a "selected number" of foreign armament companies. The total items for procurement include: 72,400 assault rifles, 93,895 CQB carbines and 16,479 LMGs, the report said.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had reportedly given the assent to procure the assault rifles and CQB carbines on January 16. The two procurements are estimated to cost Rs 1,798 crore and Rs 1,749 crore respectively.

The acquisition of LMGs was given the nod by DAC on February 16. The guns are expected to cost Rs 1,819 crore.

The three procurements will be executed under the fast-track procedure (FTP), which would ensure the new weapons are put to use within a time-frame of one year.

The demand to induct new assault rifles and CQB carbines goes back to 2005. In 2009, the Army also expressed concern over the shortage of LMGs. However, graft allegations and high-technical parameters caused the unprecedented delay.

Over the past couple of years, the call for weapon modernisation has picked up pace as voices within the Army have marked their dissent against "vintage category" arms being used by the forces.

While appearing before a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence earlier in the month, Lt Chand said nearly 68 per cent of weapon stock being used by the Army could prove to be obsolete in face of a conflict.

"The state today is 68% vintage, 24% current and 8% in state-of-the-art category," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2018 07:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).