AK Antony asks armed forces to focus on operational preparedness

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AK Antony asks armed forces to focus on operational preparedness

The defence ministry is prioritising its expenditure for the remaining months of the financial year and focusing on purchases that impact the armed forces' operational preparedness.

Till now, it has exhausted around 40 per cent of the available funds in buying military hardware.

In the next few months, the ministry plans to speed up infrastructure development in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China, buy ammunition to end shortage and acquire high-value assets, from aircraft to warships.

On Wednesday, a mid-year review of Rs.79,578.63 crore that was ear-marked for weapon purchases was carried out, after which defence minister AK Antony asked the three forces to focus on operational preparedness.

The total defence budget for the year is about Rs.2 lakh crore.

Sources said Rs.26,500 crore has already been spent- an amount which is marginally more than last year's expenditure at the same time.

But despite the huge spending, delays in key projects have been a cause of concern for the armed forces.

Antony has decided to hold separate reviews of some key projects and departments. On his radar is the ambitious project to build indigenous aircraft carriers, functioning of ordnance factories and defence public sector undertakings.

The construction of a 40,000 tonne carrier in progress at the Cochin shipyard has missed several deadlines and, according to latest estimates, it will not be ready for induction before 2017.

The navy had hoped to get the delivery of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya from Russia, but it suffered a setback when leakage in the refurbished carrier’s boilers was detected during sea trials. It has pushed the induction of the ship by another year.

Another major area of concern is infrastructure development projects in Arunachal Pradesh. There is a sense of urgency in speeding up development of the roads and rail network in the region to assist troops on the ground.

There has been an increase in the number of violations on the Line of Actual Control. Increasing connectivity to the region is a priority, officials said.

The air force is awaiting finalisation of purchase of 126 medium multi-role fighters. Price negotiations are underway with the French company Dassault, which is selling Rafale jets to India. Sources said it will take another six months for the discussions to end.

A number of key purchases, including the attack helicopter Apache and the heavy lift helicopter Chinook, from the US have advanced to the next stage. The air force is also looking to finalise a new air-to-air refueller for its fleet.