Ministry Of Defence Approves Acquisition Of 6.5 Lakh Assault Rifles For Indian Army Under 'Make In India'
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the acquisition of 6.5 lakh assault rifles, under “Make in India” program on Friday. The Indian Army issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the purchase of 7.62x39 square mm calibre assault rifles.
New Delhi, September 1: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the acquisition of 6.5 lakh assault rifles, under “Make in India” program on Friday. The Indian Army issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the purchase of 7.62x39 square mm calibre assault rifles. The new rifles should have an effective range of 300 metres. The assault rifles will be produced by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) as well as private sector companies. The deadline for submitting responses is September 24.
The deal to procure these assault rifles would be over Rs 12,000 crore. The Army is looking to replace around 8 lakh Insas Rifles produced by the OFB. According to reports, the procurement of weapon systems with lower general staff qualitative requirements (GSQRs) will give a boost to domestic defence manufacture companies.
Earlier this year, the MoD had approved the procurement of 72,400 assault rifles of 7.62x51 square mm calibre for the frontline troops through a fast track procurement from the international market. The entire deal would be of Rs 1,798 crore. The Army had also sent a nine-member delegation, led by a Brigadier-rank officer to five other countries. Currently, there are around 400 units of infantry serving in the most difficult parts. These also Rashtriya Rifles units engaged in the counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 01, 2018 12:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).