CAG Report on Ammunition Shortage Factually Wrong: Sitharaman

Purchasing weapons is a continuous process, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a conference on Role of Defence Public Sector Undertakings and Ordnance Factory Boards in Supporting Central Armed Forces organised by the Department of Defence Production at DRDO Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. 

(Photo: PTI)

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 10 September dismissed as "factually wrong" a CAG report which had stated that the defence forces had ammunition that could last for 20 days in the event of a war, and asserted there was no dearth of weapons with the defence forces.

The facts were wrong and it was unnecessary to debate on the issue, she told reporters.

After taking the charge of Defence Ministry, I have discussed the issue with senior officers and experts. Purchasing weapons... is a continuous process.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Minister

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report tabled in Parliament recently, stated that the defence forces had ammunition that could last for 20 days in the event of a war, instead of the minimum requirement of 40 days.

It criticised the state-run Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for inadequate quantity of ammunition supplied to the army since March 2013.

Sitharaman's predecessor in the Defence Ministry, Arun Jaitley, told Parliament that the findings of the CAG report, which had talked about the shortage of ammunition, were related to a particular point in time.

Thereafter, significant process has been made. It is a continuous process. Therefore, nobody should have any doubt about the availability of equipment or the preparedness of our forces.

Arun Jaitley, former Defence Minister

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