By Admin 
Since Operation Sindoor, hardly a day has passed when no statement of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has appeared in the media. Rajnath Singh is every day calling upon soldiers, bureaucrats associated with the Defense Ministry, representatives of private companies or the common people to become self-reliant in the defense sector. One thing that is constantly coming to the fore in the Defense Minister’s address is that along with the army, the country also has to always be ready for war. A war that can last from just four days to months or even years like the Russia-Ukraine war.
Is India (and the Indian Army) ready for a long war? When it comes to the country’s ammunition, one remembers the letter written by the then Army Chief (now Governor of Mizoram) General VK Singh (retd) about a decade and a half ago, in which ammunition for only ten days was mentioned, but in the last 10 years, ABP News spoke to a three star general of the Indian Army (off camera) on what is the status of India’s reserve war-store i.e. the ammunition required for war. special Talked.
More than 90 percent ammunition is being made in India
The General said that at present, more than 90 percent of the ammunition used by the Indian Army is manufactured in India. At one time, only the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), a government undertaking, could supply ammunition to the army. Participation of private companies was almost nil. Under the Make in India policy of the Modi government, today there are around 20 private sector companies like Adani Defence, Solar Industry, SMPP and Bharat-Forge along with government companies (erstwhile OFB), which are manufacturing arms as well as ammunition and other ammunition.
Companies like Adani Defense have focused more on ammunition on the call of former CDS General Bipin Rawat so that the Indian forces (Army, Air Force and Navy) do not face any shortage of ammunition in case of war. The senior executive of Adani Defense himself has said this publicly.
Army uses 175 types of ammunition
The Indian Army uses about 175 different types of ammunition. These include ammunition of vintage weapons caliber to advanced precision munitions. The special thing is that out of these, 134 caliber ammunitions are manufactured in India by DRDO, Defense PSU and private sector.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has also clearly assured that private companies will be provided a level playing field like government companies, because after independence, government companies dominated the defense sector for many decades. Last week, the Defense Ministry released the new Defense Procurement Manual (DPM-2025), in which the requirement for the armed forces to obtain permission from OFB to purchase ammunition from private companies has been completely abolished.
Continuous orders for next 7-10 years
The General told ABP News that to ensure the share of big private ammunition manufacturing companies in the defense sector, assurance of continuous orders for the next 7-10 years has been given. This is why Rajnath Singh and the top military leadership are ready for a long war.
However, it is agreed that India has never been in favor of war, but if war is started through any other incident like Pahalgam attack, then the enemy will not be spared at any cost. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced to treat any terrorist incident as a war. The General also said that the shelf life of ammunition is very important. In such a situation, the responsibility of shelf life will be on the shoulders of the companies. Besides, maintenance and repairs will also have to be borne by the companies themselves.
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