Even though Operation Sindoor ended in four days in May 2025, the Indian Army is preparing itself for a long war in the new year. For this, the army is relying on indigenous ammunition instead of foreign ammunition. According to the information, the Indian Army is now using 90 percent indigenous ammunition and is strengthening itself through self-reliance.
By reducing dependence on imports and promoting domestic production, the Indian Army is engaged in strengthening its long-term operational capability and self-reliant preparedness. In the last four to five years, the procurement process has been simplified and made competitive so that more domestic companies can come forward.
Army weapons being made for Rs 16,000 crore under Make in India
Under Make in India, orders worth about Rs 16 thousand crore are in various stages. At the same time, in the last three years, orders for supply of ammunition worth about Rs 26 thousand crores have been given to Indian companies. This has made the supply system more strong and reliable. The Indian Army uses about 200 types of ammunition and precision weapons for its various weapon systems. Due to policy reforms and coordination with industry, more than 90 percent of these ammunition are now being manufactured in the country. Work is also going on at a fast pace on the remaining categories, in which research institutes, public sector and private industry are participating.
To ensure the participation of big private ammunition manufacturing companies in the defense sector, assurance of continuous orders for the next 7-10 years has been given. This is why Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and the top military leadership are calling on the army to be prepared for a long war. However, there is consensus that India has never been in favor of war, but if it is provoked through another incident like the Pahalgam attack, the enemy will not be spared at any cost. At the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced to treat any terrorist incident as a war.
Ammunition and Logistics is the backbone of the Army.
Actually, the security situation of India is changing with time. Amidst new technology, global developments and long-term challenges, it has become necessary for the Army to be prepared for every situation. Today, military preparedness is not limited to modern weapons, but the ability to handle long-term operations is equally important.
Ammunition, spare parts and logistics act as the backbone of war or any military operation. Keeping this in mind, the Indian Army has made self-reliance in the field of ammunition an important basis of its preparation.
India moving forward under self-reliant India and Make in India
Earlier the supply of ammunition was largely dependent on old production infrastructure and foreign sources. This dependence emerged as a challenge during the global disruptions. Recent international experiences have made it clear that countries that have strong domestic production systems are able to maintain their preparedness for a longer period of time. Under this thinking, the Indian Army is moving forward in accordance with the goals of self-reliant India and Make in India-Make for the World.
According to the Indian Army, in the coming times the emphasis will be on further strengthening these efforts. Increasing domestic availability of raw materials, development of critical components like propellant and fuse, modernization of production infrastructure, faster transfer of technology and stringent quality standards will be major steps in this direction.
With self-reliance in the field of ammunition, the Indian Army is strengthening its long-term preparedness, operational capability and national security. This effort not only meets the current needs, but also creates a strong foundation for future challenges.
Tremendous increase in India’s reserve war stores in 10 years
There has been a tremendous increase in India’s reserve war-stores in the last 10 years. It is not very long ago, when the then Army Chief (now Governor of Mizoram) General VK Singh (retd) had written a letter to the government and reminded that the army had only 10 days of ammunition left.
At one time, only the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), a government undertaking, could supply ammunition to the army. Participation of private companies was almost nil. Under the Make in India policy of the Modi government, today along with the government companies (erstwhile OFB), there are about 20 private sector companies like Adani Defence, Solar Industries, SMPP and Bharat-Forge which are manufacturing arms as well as ammunition and other ammunition.
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