India's Modernisation Challenge

India’s military needs to be modernised. A study of its acquisition requirements shows the extend to which improvement in the process is needed.

- Debalina Ghoshal

In 2018, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman caused concern among many analysts and policy makers when she stated that India had ammunition that could last for ten days if a war broke out. Since then, reports indicate that Sitharaman’s target is to stockpile enough ammunition that would enable India to fight for forty days or more.

Existing doctrine states that the Indian Army must be prepared to fight a two-front war and for this there is a need for more sophisticated weapon systems. However, the government’s procurement policy is not good and it has been mired in controversies and bureaucratic delays. All the three of India’s armed forces require modern weapons to strengthen both their conventional and nuclear deterrence capability.

The Indian Army

India’s obsolete assault rifle is a concern especially as the Indian Army is not only challenged to fight against potential adversaries such as Pakistan and China, but it is also involved in frequent low intensity conflicts. The Indian Army relies mainly on its assault rifles for counter terrorism operations and still retains the INSAS 5.56x45mm rifle, while its adversaries have been well equipped with Kalashnikov 7.62mm. The Defence Ministry has already approved of a budget of $255 million (INR1,798 crores) for the purchase of 72,400 advanced assault rifles. In August 2018, it was reported that the Army put forward a Request for Information (RFI) to the Ordnance factory Board (OFB) for a 7.62x51mm calibre rifle with an effective range of 300 metres for a ‘shoot to kill’ capability.