New Delhi, January 31: At the Defence Acquisition Council meeting held today, the Ministry of Defence gave the final assent for the project to construct six submarines. The estimated cost for the project has been billed as Rs 40,000 crores. The approval comes in the backdrop of concerns expressed by senior Army personnel and veteran, seeking an expedited procurement of arms and ammunition.

Apart from the Rs 40,000 crore project to construction 6 submarines, the Council has also approved a bid to acquire Milan 2T Anti-Tank Guided Missiles from France. The details of the procurement program, including the number of units to be procured, were yet to be confirmed. Cash-Strapped HAL May Get Order Worth Rs 3,000 Crore From Indian Air Force.

The Defence Acquisition Council, the body in-charge of ensuring the Army's logistical requirements are addressed, has been under pressure over the past couple of years to expedite the procurement of arms. A CAG report in 2017 had caused a massive row, after it red-flagged the shortage of weaponry in the forces. Wth the present stock, the audit report said, the Indian Army would be able to sustain only 10-days of a full-blown war.

The situation remained grave in 2018, with Army’s then Vice Chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand informing a Parliamentary Committee on Defence that it faces an acute shortage of funds. The top officer had claimed that the allotment made for Defence in the 2018-19 Budget had "dashed our hopes", adding that a marginal increase vis-a-vis FY17-18 barely accounts for inflation.

The Parliamentary Committee, in its report before the House, had stressed on the statements of Lt Gen Chand, stating that the government needs to pay immediate attention towards bridging the deficiencies in the weaponry and modernising the existing stock of arms, as a threat of a "two-front war" could not be ruled out.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2019 08:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).