New Delhi, February 14: In a bid to bolster firepower of infantry soldiers and enhance the military procurement in India, the Defence Ministry on Tuesday approved capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 15,935 crore.  The proposals include the purchase of 7.40 lakh assault rifles, 5,719 sniper rifles and light machine guns. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, met on Tuesday and accorded approval to the long-pending proposals.

The recent approval comes few days after the terror attack on the Sunjuwan Army camp and Karan Nagar in Jammu and Kashmir. The approvals include procurement of essential quantity of Light Machine Guns for the three Services through the Fast Track Procedure at an estimated cost of over Rs 1,819 crore. This procurement will meet the operational requirement of the troops deployed on the borders. A concurrent proposal is being processed for the balance quantity to be procured under the 'Buy and Make (Indian)' categorisation.

The rifles will be produced in in India under the 'Buy and Make (Indian)' category through both state-run Ordnance Factory Board and private sector. In a statement, the ministry said "essential quantity" of Light Machine Guns (LMGs) will be through the "fast track" route at an estimated cost of over Rs 1,819 crore, primarily to meet the operational requirement of the troops deployed on the borders. "A concurrent proposal is being processed for the balance quantity to be procured under the 'Buy and Make (Indian)' categorisation," the ministry was quoted by PTI.

In the last one month, to equip the soldiers on the border with modern and more effective equipment, the DAC has fast-tracked procurement of the three main personal weapons, i.e., Rifles, Carbines and Light Machine Guns. “The DAC also approved procurement of 5,719 Sniper Rifles for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force at an estimated cost of Rs 982 crore. While these high precision weapons will be bought with ‘Buy Global’ categorisation, the ammunition for these will be initially procured and subsequently manufactured in India”, a government release said.

To enhance the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of Indian Naval Ships, the DAC accorded approval for the procurement of Advanced Torpedo Decoy Systems (ATDS) for the Indian Navy. The 'Mareech' system has been developed indigenously by Defence Research and Development Organisation and has successfully completed extensive trial evaluations. The 'Mareech' systems will be produced by Bharat Electronics Limited, Bengaluru at an estimated cost of Rs 850 crore.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 14, 2018 11:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).