Govt must address ammo shortage

News that the Indian Army is running woefully short of ammunition for its artillery is shocking. While the recommended ammunition reserves is for 40 days, the army has ammunition that will last only 10 days in case of a war. An audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) finds that the shortage is particularly acute for high-calibre weapons like artillery guns and tanks. Though there is no immediate crisis along the sensitive Pakistani and Chinese borders, that is no reason for complacency. Though the shortage has been recognised and both the present and previous governments were apprised of the situation, the establishment does not seem to reflect urgency to set right the issue as quickly as possible. The crucial role played by the artillery in the 1999 Kargil conflict has been widely acknowled-ged and points to the importance of traditional warfare despite technological advancements in other areas.

According to official estimates and media reports, at least Rs 19,250 crore need to be spent and even then the optimal reserves of 40 days will be achieved only by 2019. The shortage has worsened since 2009. In 2012, 84 per cent of artillery had ammunition stocks to last only 10 days. It got slightly better over the next year when 65 per cent of artillery had 10 days’ reserve ammunition. The defence ministry was apprised of the situation in July 2013, but inexplicably a reply came only last month. The importance of ammunition cannot be overstated particularly in the context of a massive expansion reportedly undertaken by the Indian Army including the formation of a 90,000 strong XVII Mountain Strike Corps that will be mainly located in the North-East along the border with China. 

The ammunition shortage can also be attributed to the sensitivity surrounding purchase of artillery equipment ever since the controversy in the mid-80s relating to suspected bribes in the purchase of the Bofors 155 mm howitzers. Since then, the defence ministry has become extra-cautious in arms procurement and several top firms were blacklisted. Reports say this has proved to be a disadvantage in making good the shortage. The government has now allowed the Indian private sector to tie up with foreign arms manufacturers and make defence equipment that would presumably include ammunition for the artillery. It would only be in the fitness of things that the government addresses the shortage and takes steps to smoothen any bureaucratic wrinkles that may delay procurement or manufacture of ammunition for the artillery. It would do no good for the Indian Army to be caught napping in the event of a conflict, however remote it may seem now.