According to a senior procurement officer, the Indian Army will stop importing ammunition in the upcoming fiscal year since its domestic industry has increased its production capacity to satisfy the military’s requirements.
The Indian Army’s Additional Director General (Procurement), Major General V.K. Sharma, said that although the army had previously placed a significant emphasis on imports to meet its yearly ammunition needs, it has now found domestic suppliers for about 150 of the 175 types of ammunition it uses.
“In the next financial year, we will not have any import of ammunition, except in cases where the quantity required is too low for domestic production to be economically viable,” Maj Gen Sharma said during a seminar on ammunition production organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI).
The Indian Army plans to stop all imports of ammunition from the next financial year, as the domestic industry has increased its capacity to meet demands and potentially gain a share of the global market. @adgpi @ajitkdubey pic.twitter.com/sUNXL1cLL1
— Technical Astra (@kishanchand_89) May 8, 2024
The army currently spends between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000 crore a year on ammunition, all of which would now come from Indian manufacturers.
As a result of a gradual implementation of a negative import list or positive indigenisation lists, foreign producers currently supply only 5–10% of the army’s ammunition requirements.
Positive indigenisation lists are lists of items released by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) that India has the capacity to make domestically and will not be imported.
The capacity for domestic manufacturing has risen due to the establishment of new ammunition plants by a number of private sector enterprises in recent years, in addition to the recently corporatized Ordnance Factories.
The largest ammunition complex in Asia was opened by Adani in Kanpur two months ago, in February 2024. Thousands of rockets, missiles, small- and large-calibre ammunition, and artillery rounds will be produced at the site for the security forces.
In addition, Tata became the first private aircraft producer in India, aside from the government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, when it started assembling the Airbus C-295 transport plane.
The aim is to stop all ammunition imports by 2025-26.
