February 07 , 2017
News
India signed ‘urgent’ arms deals after Uri: report
By: Daily Times MonitorISLAMABAD: India has signed a number of 'emergency' arms deals worth 200 billion Indian rupees (INR) over the past two or three months to ensure its armed forces' preparedness for battle on short notice, Times of India reported on Monday. The Indian daily, citing Defence Ministry sources, said the aim of the deals was to guarantee that India's armed forces are able to undertake at least 10 days of "intense fighting" without having to worry about ammunition, spares and other reserves.
Progress on new contracts, especially with Russia, Israel and France, was ramped up after the Uri army base attack in September 2016. According to the ToI, the Indian Air Force has concluded 43 contracts worth more than INR 92 billion for ammunition and spares for fighter jets such as the Sukhoi Su-30MKIs, Mirage-2000s and Mikoyan MiG-29s; transport aircrafts like the Ilyushin Il-76s, and mid-air refuelling aircraft like the Ilyushin Il-78s. The Indian Army has inked around 10 contracts worth over INR 58 billion with Russian companies for engines and 125mm armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) ammunition for T-90s and T-72 tanks, Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles and Smerch rockets. Last week, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a 10 percent increase in the country's defence budget for upcoming fiscal year. The budget was increased to INR 2.74 trillion as compared to previous fiscal year's budget of INR 2.49 trillion.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk