GOVERNMENT SETS JUNE 2018 DEADLINE TO MEET AMMO SHORTAGE IN ARMY

NEWDELHI: Indiahas set June 2018 as its target for meeting critical shortage of ammunition held by the army—a deficiency that limits the force’ s ability to fight prolonged wars—a top ministry official said.

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked the army to implement its road map for building up the ammunition stock to “optimal levels” , the official told Hindustan Times on Wednesday.

The army is authorised to stock pile ammunition for 40 days of intense fighting, known as war wastage reserves( WW R) in military parlance. In case that is not possible for all types of ammunition, the requirement for WW R to last for at least 20 days was made mandatory by the government two decades ago.

While the official did not specify if the “optimal” levels that the minister referred to translated into 40 days, 30 days or 20 days, several army officers HT spoke to said the force would be comfortable with ammunition stocks that can last for at least 20 days of intense fighting.

Army sources said that as things stand,just building stocks of all types of ammunition to last 10 days could cost about ~20,000 crore.

“The government has shown its intent to improve the situation but funds will have to be made available to fill the gaps,” the sources said.

Though it was not clear how much money was being allocated, and where it would be taken from, the Centre in July best owed sweeping financial power son the army to meet deficiencies in ammunition and spares following a security review conducted in response to last year’s terror strike in Uri. The army has been struggling to meet its ammunition targets , and a string of reports have exposed chinks in the armoury.