Prime Minister Modi’s flagship Make-in-India national mission, which was launched in 2014 has started to show major results. According to Major General V K Sharma, ADG (Procurement), the Indian Army will stop importing any foreign ammunition from the next financial year.
“In the next financial year (2025-26), we will not have any import of ammunition, other than in cases where the quantity is too low and it is not economical for the industry to manufacture them,” Sharma said.
India, which, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), is the largest importer of arms in the world, has found indigenous suppliers for 150 of the total 175 types of ammunition.
The Indian Army annually procures ammunition worth anywhere between Rs 8,000 to Rs 6,000 crore, most of which will now be bought from Indian manufacturers.
The gradual effect of the five positive indigenisation lists, results are now showing, with only 5 to 10 per cent of the ammunition requirement being met from imports.
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.
Apart from the Ordnance Factory Boards, which were corporatised in 2021, various private manufacturers have now come forward with their offerings and constructed ammunition parks in the country.
Two months ago, in February 2024, Adani inaugurated Asia’s largest ammunition complex in Kanpur. The facility will produce thousands of artillery shells, rockets, small and large calibre bullets, and missiles for the security forces.
Moreover, Tata also commenced the assembly of the Airbus C-295 transport aircraft, making it India’s first-ever private aircraft manufacturer, apart from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
