The Defence Ministry on Friday approved a Rs 6,000 crore proposal to procure air defence guns and ammunition for the army under the Buy & Make (Indian) category.

There was a long pending need of the Indian Army for modernisation of its Air Defence guns. These had been earlier procured only from foreign sources. With the continued thrust of Ministry of Defence towards ‘ÁtmaNirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’, an enthusiastic response from about a dozen Indian companies has been received, the Defence Ministry said.

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All of them have expressed their willingness and commitment to manufacture this complex gun system and associated equipment by ensuring technology assimilation in India, the statement explained.

In order to better equip the armed forces to meet the operational challenges and facilitate faster induction of required arms and ammunition, the Defence Ministry has also extended up to August 31, 2021 the timelines for making urgent capital acquisitions under the powers delegated to the armed forces.  This will enable the armed forces to complete their emergent and critical acquisitions.