Def Min approves procurement of military equipment @Rs 9100 crore No proposal to downsize Indian Army: DM

NEW DELHI: The Defence Ministry Tuesday accorded approval for procurement of military equipment and weapons, including two regiments of Aakash missile systems, at a cost of Rs 9,100 crore, officials said.

The acquisition proposals were approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision making body on procurement.

The DAC also approved the design and development of test equipment for guided weapons systems for T90 tanks.

The Aakash missiles will be supplied by state-run Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). It will be an upgraded version of the previously inducted Aakash missiles, officials said.

"The upgraded Aakash weapon system is an operationally critical equipment which will provide protection to vital assets," the defence ministry said.

It said the DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also accorded approval for progressing design and development of 'Individual Under Water Breathing Apparatus (IUWBA)' for T 90 Tanks.

The IUWBA is used by the crew of tanks as a safety gear and is required by the tank crew for emergency escape when negotiating water obstacles.

"The DAC also accorded approval for design and development of test equipment for Guided Weapons System of T 90 Tank," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said there is "no proposal" before her to downsize the Indian Army.
Interacting with women journalists at the Indian Women Press Corps here, she said a government-appointed committee had suggested steps to make Army lean and powerful and Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had been holding discussions on the issue with top commanders.

She said a Committee of Experts (CoE) under the chairmanship of Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (retd) had recommend measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the armed forces.

She said it had recommended enhancing "teeth-to-tail ratio", which is ratio of active duty combat troops to the overhead and logistic support elements.

"There areen't any such proposals before me. Under the Shekatkar committee, there is teeth-to-tail ratio on the number of people who should be there in every segment so that the Army per se becomes a more efficient force. Based on that, or otherwise, the Army chief must have discussed with the commanders," she said.

The recommendations of Shekatkar committee taken up for implementation by the government include optimisation of Signals establishments, restructuring of repair echelons, redeployment of ordnance echelons, better utilization of supply and transportation echelons and closure of Military Farms and Army Postal Establishments in peace locations.

The Congress had last week referred to some media reports and attacked the Central government over a possible reduction in the strength of the Army.

On getting the S 400 air defence missile system from Russia, Sitharaman said the negotiations have reached the final stage.

"We have to see whether we sign it before the Russian President's visit," she said.

Referring to the overarching security information exchange (COMCASA), the Defence Minister said that India is the only non-NATO country to get the deal.

"COMCASA is a significant agreement. It is a historic step forward in strengthening our relationship with the US," she said.