The decision was taken at the meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The Army's long-standing demand for small arms — which is critical to boost the firepower of troops in anti-terror operations and in dealing with border conflicts — got a push as the Defence Ministry cleared procurement of 72,400 assault rifles and 93,895 carbines worth Rs 3,547 crore on Tuesday.
The decision was taken at the meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The Army is looking for an assault rifle with a range of 500 metres and night firing capabilities.
The replacement for the traditional INSAS (Indian Small Arms Systems) rifles which was inducted in 1988 has still not been found. The Army needs nearly 2 lakh assault rifles to work as an alternative to INSAS.
The acute shortage of small arms was taken up at the Army Commander's conference held in October where a blueprint to expedite the process was finalised. Sources said the Army had been pressing for early procurement of assault rifles and carbines in wake of the increasing terror operations in Kashmir.
"The army needs to replace its small arms with modern weapons in the wake of changing dynamics of counter-terror operations in Kashmir," said a source.
Earlier, the Army expressed reservations on the assault rifle being developed by the Ordnance Factory Board. A review of the 'desi' or indigenously designed assault rifle done by the Army had found the weapon "unsatisfactory" and "unreliable."
The Defence Ministry has also simplified procedures to develop and manufacture defence equipment through Indian Industry.
"The salient aspects of the revised procedure will now allow Ministry of Defence to accept suo-motu proposals from the industry and also allows start-ups to develop equipment for Indian Armed Forces," a defence ministry statement stated.
According to earlier norms only two vendors were shortlisted to develop prototype equipment. Now, all vendors meeting the relaxed eligibility criteria will be allowed to participate in the prototype development process.
"To hand-hold industry and start-ups, Service Headquartres will now setup project facilitation teams to act as the primary interface between the SHQ and the industry during the design and development stage," the Defence Ministry added.
These teams would provide technical inputs, trial infrastructure and other facilities as required by the vendor.
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