The British Royal Air Force aerobatic team, ‘Red Arrows’, performs manoeuvres at the Indian Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Hyderabad, on Thursday.The British Air Force team is on a visit to India as a part of a major 60-day tour of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. AFP
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 16
In what is turning out to be a ‘tense period’ along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, the Army and BSF have been told to be keep retaliating to all firing originating from Pakistani posts across the LoC.“Be aggressive” is the message to formation commanders on ground who have been told to respond to all ceasefire violations from across the border. The decision of time of strike is left to the local units while the nature of weapons has been small arms and mortars.An assessment at the South Block says matters could escalate as the Pakistani army is set to get a new chief who could take the same aggressive posture as the outgoing General Raheel Sharif, who retires at the end of this month. So far, matters are limited to the LoC, which is the main route of infiltration of terrorists. Thankfully, till now the two-sides have not started using artillery — seen as the first sign of escalation from military angle. Four days ago, Pakistan admitted that seven of its troops had been killed in Indian Army’s fire and the neighbouring nation promised “retaliation”.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Sporadic firing across the LoC and the IB are routine over the past five years, but since the September 29 surgical strikes carried out by the Army to hit at terror camps in PoK, things have heated up. Not only have the number of ceasefire violations gone up, the intensity and periodicity is up several notches. Today mid-level officers in the Director General of Military Operations of either side conducted their weekly hotline conference. Expectedly, the escalated firing activity was discussed, a source said. At present, the weapons being used are mortars (both 81 MM and 120 MM), light machine guns, medium machine guns and sniper weapons like Dragnov rifles. Military-held posts of either country are bang on the LoC on both sides —some times less than 20 metres away. A forward post can typically have just 10 soldiers and if it comes under fire, the rest of the battalion can only direct fire at other posts of Pakistan, which increases firing intensity. An increased number of cross-LOC fire-assaults is also due to modern surveillance equipment like night vision and thermal imagers. This leaves coordinated firing as the most viable military reply across the LoC or even the IB.
Pakistan military exercise near India border
Rustom-II drone completes maiden test flight
New Delhi, November 16 Rustom-II, India’s indigenously developed long-endurance combat-capable drone, on Wednesday successfully completed its maiden-flight, giving a boost to India’s development programme for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).The DRDO successfully carried out the maiden-flight of TAPAS 201 (RUSTOM–II), a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV. It has an endurance of 24 hours and can conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the country’s armed forces.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The UAV can also be used as an unmanned armed combat vehicle on the lines of the US’ Predator drone.The test flight took place from Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, 250 km from Bangalore, which is a newly developed flight test range for the testing of UAVs and manned aircraft.
The flight accomplished the main objectives of proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight and landing among others, a statement by the Defence Ministry said.TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Bangalore-based lab of DRDO with HAL-BEL as the production partners.The UAV weighing 2 tonne was put into air by a dedicated team of young scientists of DRDO. It was piloted (external and internal) by the pilots from the armed forces.It is also the first R&D prototype UAV which has undergone certification and qualification for the first flight from the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA).TAPAS 201, a multi-mission UAV is being developed to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the three armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours.It is capable to carry different combinations of payloads like Medium Range Electro Optic (MREO), Long Range Electro Optic (LREO), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Communication Intelligence (COMINT) and Situational Awareness Payloads (SAP) to perform missions during day and night.Many critical systems such as airframe, landing gear, flight control and avionics sub-systems are being developed in India with the collaboration of private industries.Rustom-II will undergo further trials for validating the design parameters, before going for User Validation Trials. — PTI
MECHUKHA (ARUNACHAL PRADESH): Gadgets do the job these days. But the armed forces often rely on a 78-year-old’s eyes and ears for information on the China frontier.
RAHUL KARMAKAR / HT PHOTOGaonbura president Kesang Goiba with his team of village heads at Mechukha. (Below) 101-year-old Ramo tribal elder who actively works to maintain law and order.
As a long-time gaonbura (GB, village head) of Mangang village, Dorjee Purba Chukla’s primary job is to ensure law and order locally. He has to also update the Army, IndoTibetan Border Police, intelligence agencies and the local administration on any suspicious Chinese activity on the border.
Reason: Mangang, in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Siang district, is the village closest to India’s border with China-occupied Tibet, just 29 km from the nearest point of the McMahon Line that separates India and China.
It is northeast of Mechukha, a sub-divisional headquarter 492 km from the state capital Itanagar.
Arunachal Pradesh’s border with Tibet is 1,080 km long.
“Our men are vital for the armed forces as guides and informants. They also keep a watch on the border while collecting yarje gomu (a highaltitude insect believed to have medicinal properties), which people from across the border also treasure,” Chukla said.
Chukla is one of the 75 GBs in Mechukha sub-division who are the faces of the government in 112 villages. They act as judges too, settling family and social disputes with punishments such as fines or community service, for the guilty.
“We try to use our wisdom and settle minor cases. The police and magistrates take care of major law and order issues such as murder, rape and communal clashes, but only after we refer these incidents to them,” Kesang Goiba, the GBs’ president, told HT.
The GBs are a vital cog in the administrative wheel in the difficult eastern Himalayan subdivision where many villages have to be covered by foot over four-five days, said additional deputy commissioner Tungge Loya.
“We need their help in ensuring peaceful co-existence among five major tribes of the area,” Loya said. These tribes are the Buddhist Menpa or Memba, Bokar, Ramo, Pailibo and Tagin.
The GBs’ assistance is also crucial because there are barely 15 policemen for the entire subdivision straddling 83,743 sqm of mountains at an average altitude of 6,500ft.
An Army officer of a frontier unit, declining to be named, said the GBs are important for civic action programmes besides strategic help on treacherous terrain.
“We need the support of the local people as much as they need ours for emergency medical aid and supplies,” he said.
Goiba, 60, insists the GBs are impartial in their discharge of duties despite the fact that they are selected by a few, not elected. The all-male GBs try to be fair with cases involving women too.
“Many of the cases of crimes against girls and women we have handled have gone against men,” Goiba, who was selected GB president eight years ago, said.
A GB gets an honorarium of Rs 200-250 from the government. It is a pittance for the trouble they take, but the social status that comes with the job is more than worth it, the GBs say.
Our Correspondent
Nurpur, November 8
The family members of martyr Havildar Lakhveer Singh (51) of Buskwara village in Maira gram panchayat of Jawali subdivision have been running from pillar to post seeking fulfilment of promises announced by the government and political leaders of Kangra district after his martyrdom. He had lost his life in a Naxalite ambush in Chhattisgarh on March 11, 2014. The martyr, son of an ex-serviceman Capt Harnam Singh (retd), earlier served in 10 Para Commando unit of the Indian Army and re-joined the CRPF in 2009 after his retirement from the Army.Top leaders of various political parties from Kangra district happened to visit the family of the martyr during those days and announced a number of works as a tribute to the martyr but none of them had kick-started so far. His father Harnam Singh, mother Sarla Devi and wife Lalita Devi said the state government had promised to name government high school at Maira after martyr Lakhveer Singh’s name, build pucca approach road to the martyr’s house and a memorial gate in the local gram panchayat. They lamented that none of these announcements had been fulfilled despite their repeated requests and representations to the state government.They revealed that former Lok Sabha MP Dr Rajan Sushant, present Lok Sabha MP Shanta Kumar, former minister Chander Kumar, Chief Parliamentary Secretary-cum-local MLA Neeraj Bharti and the then Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, had visited their house to condole the killing of Lakhveer Singh in the Naxalite attack and given such assurances to the bereaved family. “They had even met Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at Bharmour during his visit to the Jawali Assembly constituency in 2014 who also assured to fulfil these commitments. He had also announced ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the family. But none of the promises has been met so far,” they rued.The family members of the martyr said they had submitted a representation to the state government in 2014 through the SDM, Jawali, with supportive resolutions of the surrounding gram panchayats of Maira, Sidhpur-Ghar and Bharmar and an estimate of Rs 4 lakh had been prepared for the construction of a memorial gate by the local Public Works Department but in vain. They had appealed to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to implement his commitments forthwith so that the martyr’s supreme sacrifice could get recognition.
What PM says is one rank one pension is actually pension enhancement and not OROP. RAHUL GANDHI, Congress vice-president It is… important that nobody tries to convert a personal tragedy into a political gain… ARUN JAITLEY, Union finance minister
NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “lying” to the nation over the implementation of a pension scheme for the armed forces, ratcheting up his battle with the BJP government over the contentious issue.
SANJEEV VERMA / HTCongress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addresses the media after a meeting with representatives of ex-servicemen in New Delhi.
Gandhi also sought an apology from the government for police manhandling of the family of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who committed suicide on Wednesday over the one rankone pension (OROP) issue.
The Congress leader’s remarks drew a strong reaction from the government with finance minister Arun Jaitley saying that “a political party with sinking fortunes should not try to encash on the personal tragedy of one person”.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi interacted with a group of 60-70 ex-servicemen at the Congress headquarters in Delhi at 24, Akbar Road.
“He wanted to understand the issue. We apprised him of the subject and our demands,” said retired Maj Gen Satbir Singh of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, which is leading the fight for total implementation of OROP.
“Hope he raises our issue. It is the duty of every parliamentarian to raise the issue and help ex-servicemen get their rights.”
At the forefront of the agitation on the issue following Grewal’s suicide, Gandhi had been detained thrice in two days by the Delhi police during protests.
“What (the) PM says is one rank-one pension is actually pension enhancement. The PM should stop lying on the issue,” a combative Gandhi told reporters after his meeting with the retired military personnel. “OROP is the right of armed forces personnel and government will have to give it.” OROP enables the retired soldiers of the same rank and the same length of service get the same pension, irrespective of when they retired.
The Congress has decided to take the issue to the streets and also raise it in Parliament during the winter session, beginning November 16. On Friday, scores of Youth Congress workers tried to take out a march to the Prime
Minister’s Office but were stopped by police. The incident has put the BJP on a mat after it appeared to have seized political advantage from the September 29 surgical strikes against terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC). OROP is likely to dominate the campaign in pollbound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand where the armed forces enjoy mass appeal. However, Jaitley countered, saying the Congress-led UPA government didn’t take any meaningful steps towards resolving OROP. “UPA’s concern for OROP is for political gains,” he said. For the first time, the finance minister said, the NDA government accepted the OROP demand with the provision for reviewing the pension every five years. But Gandhi was unsparing on the PM. “Narendra Modiji, you should stop lying and work to implement the OROP,” he said.
“OROP is the right of armed forces personnel and government will have to give it.” OROP enables the retired soldiers of the same rank and the same length of service get the same pension, irrespective of when they retired.
The Congress has decided to take the issue to the streets and also raise it in Parliament during the winter session, beginning November 16. On Friday, scores of Youth Congress workers tried to take out a march to the Prime
Minister’s Office but were stopped by police. The incident has put the BJP on a mat after it appeared to have seized political advantage from the September 29 surgical strikes against terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC). OROP is likely to dominate the campaign in pollbound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand where the armed forces enjoy mass appeal. However, Jaitley countered, saying the Congress-led UPA government didn’t take any meaningful steps towards resolving OROP. “UPA’s concern for OROP is for political gains,” he said. For the first time, the finance minister said, the NDA government accepted the OROP demand with the provision for reviewing the pension every five years. But Gandhi was unsparing on the PM. “Narendra Modiji, you should stop lying and work to implement the OROP,” he said.
The Centre will select an Indian firm to partner with a foreign player and produce military equipment in India
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 4
In what could be termed as a path-breaking move, the Ministry of Defence has finalised a new policy that will allow the government to select an Indian private company to collaborate with a foreign partner and produce military equipment in India.Termed as “strategic partnership”, the policy would appear as a chapter in the existing defence procurement procedure (DPP), top sources told The Tribune. The DPP is the guiding framework on procedures of military equipment makers on investing in the country.The move is expected to boost the ‘make in India’ initiative and build a military-industrial base in the country. At present, India is the world’s largest importer of weapons, equipment and platforms with 70 per cent of its inventory being imported.Till now, the MoD was bound to select a public sector undertaking to partner with a foreign company. Or in case the foreign company chose its Indian partner, the MoD had no say in it. “The strategic partnership does not mean that the public sector companies will not be nominated. They will keep on getting work,” a senior functionary said.Under the new policy, the Indian private company will be selected on parameters that include cost of equipment, its indigenisation content, technology transfer being offered by the foreign partner, technology absorption capacity of the Indian partner, the financial status of the Indian company and its experience in military equipment making.The MoD would select the Indian partner, said the source, adding that this was needed as the foreign companies—some of whom are in the fortune 500 list — did not know whom to partner with in India. The foreign companies will have firm policy to follow while the choice of Indian partner will be with the government. The move will remove the hurdles in making the next lot of submarines, copters and fighter jets. “It will create an ecosystem of hi-tech items to be made in India,” the functionary explained.
Tribune News Service
Kolkata, November 4
An Indian Army Contingent, led by Col PS Sandhi, arrived at Dhaka today to participate in the India-Bangladesh joint military exercise named SAMPRITI-2016. Sixth in the series of joint exercises, this edition will be conducted at Bangabandhu Senanibas (BBS), Tangail, for two weeks from tomorrow. The exercise will focus on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain.The Indian contingent comprises one company of the Mahar Regiment consisting about 120 troops. The exercise will commence with the familiarisation phase in various tactical drills and procedures required for carrying out coordinated operations. Subsequently, soldiers from the two armies will undertake execution of joint tactical operations like cordon and search, road-opening, raid and house clearance, etc.
From: Colonelrajan Srinivas <colonelrajan44@gmail.com>
Date: 31 October 2016 at 20:59
Subject: Gen Satbir Singh, it is time to introspect
To: M V <militaryveterans@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: Maj Gen Satbir Singh SM <satbirsm@yahoo.com>, Maj Gen Satbir Singh <satbirsm@gmail.com>, \
MAJ GEN SATBIR SINGH:
PLEASE INTROSPECT AND STOP FOOLING YOURSELF
Respected Veteran Gen Satbir Singh,
Chairman IESM
Jai Hind.
- Vide your email dt. 17 Aug 2016, reproduced below; you had categorically assured that IESM is not rpt not going political.
- It is however surprising that vide your email dt. 21 Oct 2016, reproduced below, you have sought Donation for Fauji Janta Party (FJP), as its Chief Patron. It is normally the President/Vice President/General Secretary of a Political Party who seeks Donation; but in this case, it is you as Chief Patron of FJP who is seeking Donation. By so doing; you have made it amply clear that you are very much part & parcel of FJP. Since you are Chairman IESM and Chief Patron Fauji Janta Paty (FJP), at the same time, ipso facto, IESM as an Org stands very much politicized.
- I have no problem whether you form a Political Party or join a Political Party or align yourself with a Political Party or vote for any Political Party of your chice; for that is your fundamental right under the Constitution. But what makes me feel sad is, ‘how come you, the leading light of IESM, have made a laughing stock of yourself’. Just by assuming the mantle of Chief Patron of FJP, you thought State Chiefs of other parties, viz. the Congress, the BJP, the Akalis and the AAP would fall at your feet and beg you to ally FJP with them. What wishful thinking. I wish you had realized that even a person like Navjot Singh Sidhu, an all India personality, today finds himself hanging in thin air, with nobody willing to touch him. ‘Jab Sidhu ki dhaal nahi gali; aur, usko koyi Ghaas daalneko thaiyar nahi; tho aapko kaun poochega?
- Rather sad. I suggest, even now it is not too late for you to beat a hasty retreat; and save yourself from further embarrassment.
Regards,
Col Rajan
Bangalore, 9449043770
SANJHA MORCHA WISHES ALL ITS READERS A VERY HAPPY DEWALI
Diwali is certainly one of the biggest, brightest and most important festivals of India. While Diwali is popularly known as the “festival of lights”. The celebration of Diwali as the “victory of good over evil” refers to the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance. While the story behind Diwali and the manner of celebration of the festival differ greatly depending on the region, the essence of the festival remains the same – the
SANJHA MORCHA
ALSO APPEALS TO ALL VETERANS TO LIGHT CANDLES IN THE MEMORY OF THE MARTYR’S SOLDIERS WHO HAVE LAID DOWN AND SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES FOR THE NATION. A SUPREME SACRIFICE.
WITHOUT A THOUGHT
BUT THE DEAF AND BLIND GOVT CANNOT SEE ALL THIS EXCEPT THE WHAT IS SHOWN TO THEM BY THE BABUS. THEY CAN ONLY SEND SANDESH TO SOLDIERS GUARDING THE BORDERS .
REMEMBER WHAT LATA SUNG YEARS AGO LISTEN BELOW
Sainik School buddies of Col Mahadik send 400 packets to unit jawans in Valley
Mumbai, October 29
Classmates of an Army officer from Maharashtra, who laid down his life battling militants near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district last year, have sent 400 packets of sweets to soldiers in his unit.Col Santosh Mahadik, the Commanding Officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was critically injured during the operation in the Haji Naka forest area of Kupwara near the LoC in November and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital later.“The boxes, weighing just over 300 kg, landed at Srinagar airport and are being sent to 41 Rashtriya Rifles for distribution among the soldiers the martyr once commanded,” a classmate of Mahadik, involved in this initiative, said.Col Mahadik was a student of Sainik School, Satara.“This Diwali, we thought of his comrades-in-arms, who suffer harsh climes and the enemy from across the border, as well as some within. We thought this would be a nice gesture for soldiers, who spend Diwali away from their families,” he said.An officer from the elite 21 Para-Special Forces unit, Col Mahadik was awarded a Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the North-East in 2003.Mahadik’s wife Swati last month joined the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai as part of the SSCW (non-technical) course for 11 months’ training before she joins the Army as a Lieutenant. An ace football goalkeeper, a skilled horse-rider and a passionate boxer, Mahadik was an all-rounder, his friends recall.Despite the inhospitable terrain that made the Kupwara operation immensely challenging, the Colonel particularly chose to lead his battalion.Mahadik’s classmates, including Manish Manidergi, Giridhar Kole, Deepak Patil and Shashikant Waghmode, have launched the initiative which they are calling ‘Operation Diwali’.Waghmode said, “I, along with my wife, was in his Regiment just before Diwali last year and she carried Diwali sweets for him. We miss him this Diwali.” — PTI
Days after the September 18 Uri attack in which 19 Indian army soldiers were killed, the higher echelons of government went into a huddle. Military retaliation was among the options discussed by the cabinet committee on security. This was when the forces revealed to the government the critical voids in its ammunition reserves.
The army was deficient in four to five critical items of ammunition. These included armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) ammunition fired by its T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks for which it held just one day of war wastage reserves (WWR). Ammunition needed to meet war requirements during an operation is termed WWR. The IAF’s Su-30 fighter jets and Mi-35 gunships also did not have ammunition. The revelations galvanised the political leadership into action. Bureaucratic channels were bypassed and emergency powers delegated to the vice-chiefs of the army and air force to push purchases. The MoD under defence minister Manohar Parrikar decided to fast-track imports.
So, in late September, the MoD sent out empowered committees comprising a senior bureaucrat, an armed forces representative and a member of the defence finance wing with wishlists. The committees went to ammunition suppliers in Russia and Israel with indents for buying several million dollars worth of ammunition. The wishlists include rockets and gun ammunition for Mi-35 helicopter gunships and Su-30 fighter jets, 155 mm ammunition for the Bofors howitzers, and 125 mm APFSDS ammunition for the tank fleet.
The urgency was evident in the indents-the MoD was willing to buy up existing stocks as well as off production lines. Factories were asked to identify time-frames of possible delivery, from ‘immediate’, within ‘one month’, ‘two months’ and ‘three months’. Army officials confirmed that several contracts had been finalised and deliveries of ammunition had begun. The value of the contracts is estimated to be close to Rs 5,000 crore, just for ammunition. “The purchases are easily the largest fast-track procurements since Operation Parakram in 2001,” says one official.
Fast-track purchases bypass the regular defence procurement procedure (DPP), a tedious process which takes 5-8 years. Fast-track procedures (FTP) telescope the regular acquisition process, which takes up to a decade, into just nine months.
FTP was first introduced in the 2002 DPP manual which guides India’s military buying. The 2016 manual extended FTP to apply to items “where undue/unforeseen delay… seem to be adversely impacting the capacity and preparedness of the regular and special forces”.
The special forces which conducted surgical strikes across the LoC on September 29, have especially come in for attention. Requirements for limited quantities of assault rifles, thermal imagers, light machine guns and rocket launchers (see box: The Quick Draw) have been put in for them. Procurements like those for imported anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) for the weaponised variants of the Dhruv advanced light helicopter are also being fast-tracked. Through FTPs, senior army officials say, they plan to push up war stocks to cater to 10 days of intense war fighting, eventually building up to 14 days worth of stock. No one is talking war just yet. Not even in the currently tense security situation following the surgical strikes. Restocking, the military says, gives it the flexibility, endurance and confidence in logistics for its operational plans should a contingency arise. “It increases the number of options available to us,” one general says. The army hopes to make good its shortfalls within the next three months. “War endurance for the stipulated period is necessary to deal with all possible operational contingencies and especially for creating military conditions, through strategic offensive manoeuvres that ultimately contribute to the realisation of political ends,” says former army chief General Bikram Singh.
WHY THE SHORTAGES?
The MoD’s notoriously inefficient procurement process is to blame for acquisition delays. It takes the ministry at least seven years to buy new weapon systems. The army, which has found itself unable to acquire even basic items like assault rifles, ballistic helmets and bulletproof jackets for its troops, also shares some of the blame. Ammunition purchases are on the slow track. In May last year, a CAG report tabled in Parliament put the army’s WWR stocks at less than half the mandate calling for 40 days intense fighting. The WWR concept, first approved by the government in April 1979, stipulated a national stockpile of ammunition required to fight a battle for a 30-day intense period and another 30 days at the normal rate. The WWR scales were revised in October 2010 to cater for 40 days ‘intense fighting’.
A 2015 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on ammunition management covered the years between 2008 and 2013. An ammunition roadmap drawn up by the Indian army in 2012 for building up stock to 50 per cent by March 2015 and 100 per cent by 2019 failed. Stocking even at the minimum acceptable risk level (MARL) of 20 days was not ensured. Nearly 74 per cent of ammunition (125 out of 170 types) reserves were below MARL levels as of March 2013. This had seriously impacted the operational preparedness of the army because the void had grown from 15 per cent in 2009 to 50 per cent by March 2013. High caliber ammunition-used by the 155 mm Bofors artillery guns-made up nearly 84 per cent of the shortage in the five-year period.
Senior army officials, however, say stocking 40-day WWR scales is simply unrealistic. “We have neither the storage capacity nor the land to store such vast ammunition stocks,” says a senior army officer. This possibly explains why the armed forces, with their current round of purchases, are only pushing to meet a requirement of stocks for the minimum 14 days of intense war fighting.
The CAG report attributed the reasons for the failure to build the 40 days ‘intense fighting’ WWR to budgetary constraints and also to inadequate production capacity within the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). The OFB has repeatedly failed to meet targets despite the fact that 10 of its 41 factories are exclusively devoted to producing ammunition and explosives. One reason frequently cited by the OFB for delays is that they are never given adequate time to procure raw material and streamline production. Even this excuse has been exposed now. The MoD placed a five-year order for ammunition to the OFB in January 2010 but it could meet just over 70 per cent of the army’s requirements.
Another major reason for the low ammo stocks is slow imports. The CAG report found that no ammunition procurement took place for nine items of ammunition identified for import between 2008 and 2013. The reasons ranged from a single vendor situation, complexities in transfer of technology, delay in finalisation of qualitative requirements to delays in finalising import contracts. Still more worrisome is the fact that the fast-track purchases have been anything but. Sometimes, they take as long as purchases through the regular procurement route. Fast-track purchases contracted during the Kargil war, arrived long after the conflict had ended. This continued even during Operation Parakram in 2001-’02. A 2006 CAG report noted how fast-track purchases which were to have come in 12 months arrived only after four years. If the MoD has learnt anything from the past, the current round could be different.
