Army gets powers to buy ammo

Ajay Banerjee

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 12

In a significant move, the Ministry of Defence has permanently authorised the Army to make emergency purchases of ammunition and spares for selected weapons platform.

The Army Vice-Chief has been tasked to ensure that the force is always in a state of preparedness for “short intense war”, top sources said. The Vice-Chief will not follow the circuitous route to purchase through the MoD.

A total of 56 kinds of ammunition and  spares for 10 such  arms platforms, such as infantry combat vehicles and  half a dozen mines, fall under this category. The Vice-Chief  shall be spending from the “revenue” side of the defence budget and not under the head of ‘capital acquisition’ plan. An executive order has been issued in this regard

In September last, the Master General Ordnance (MGO) had conducted an audit, revealing a critical shortfall in artillery ammunition, tanks shells, fuses and spares for weapons platforms. As an emergency measure, the Army was authorised to make emergency purchases till March 31, 2017. The system worked well. Now these now powers have been extended till “further notice.”