Almost three months after the Indian Army first underlined that it was reeling under severe financial constraints, a Bloomberg report has claimed that the institution will be ordering only 250,000 modern assault rifles as against the requirement of 800,000.
The report quoted a person, privy to the matter who refused to be identified, as saying that the military "prioritized spending and advanced the purchase of more up-to-date equipment".
Of the defence force's 450,000 soldiers, the person said that only half of them participate in the ground battle and use a rifle as their primary weapon, adding that the rest of the force comprises "support soldiers".
The report also claimed that the army will use a mix of 400,000 Kalashnikov rifles and the India-made INSAS rifles to fulfil the requirements of rest of the soldiers.
In March 2018, the Army told a parliamentary panel that the funds allocated to it in the defence budget for the next fiscal is insufficient to deal with various security challenges facing the country including from a more assertive China along the northern border and from a hostile Pakistan on the western frontier.
The Army's frustrations over inadequate allocations of funds in the defence budget figured in a report of the Standing Committee on Defence which was tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday which added that 68 percent of the equipment is in 'vintage category'.
(With Inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)