Because the situation at the border is confusing and deteriorating with every passing day, it has become imperative for India to prep up for a war which may take form in the near future.
The unfavourable situations which persist at the Doklam plateau in Sikkim and the borders with Pakistan is hinting at a possible war-like-situation between India and China. In the wake of weakening neihgbourhood bonds, India has authorised the Indian Army to make emergency purchases of ammunition, spares and stores.
Army identifies key purchases to make
The army has been given a whopping budget ranging in multiple crores for the purpose of making weapon purchases. There has been no cap on the spending for arms and ammunition, unlike previously.
The army has idnetified a host of weapons as necessafy for rfigthing a war effectively. The Indian army has identified a total of 46 ammunition, spares for 10 weapons platforms like infantry combat vehicles and other kinds of weapons.
“Unlike previous process, there is no per-determined cap on the amount that can be spent. Rather, the limit to spending has been tied to the minimum stores, ammunition that must be in the reserve of the army at given time. This is big shift,” a senior Ministry of Defence officer said.
CAG Report to Parliament: An excerpt
Not long ago, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had submitted a report to the Parliament highlighting the acute shortfall of weapons and ammunitions.
The CAG report said: “while availability of authorised stock against War Wastage Reserve (WWR) to meet the expected duration of operation formed the basic criteria for ensuring the operational readiness of the Army, we found during the review that against the WWR of 40 (I) days, the availability of ammunition was only in 10 per cent of the total types of ammunition held (March 2013).”
