'Military Operationally Prepared, Budget Not A Cause Of Worry': Army Chief M M Naravane

"The Indian Army has managed to fill the gap in the ammunition shortage over the last two years as it went on a procurement spree", Army Chief Gen MM Naravane told India Today TV, adding that ammunition shortage has become a thing of the past now.

"Our reserves are full now, and stock levels are quite high. There were shortages in the past that have been met," he said in an exclusive conversation with the news channel on a range of issues.

Procurement worth more than 30,000 crores since the last three years has ensured that the decisive gap in ammunition is filled and the Army's firepower is improved.

The Chief added that the Army had been facing a critical ammunition shortage and that internal assessments after the Uri attack in 2016 finally came as a wake-up call for the government.

These internal reviews shared with the government post the Uri attack revealed that the ammunition holdings would not last beyond 10 days of hard battle.

However, the newly appointed Chief claims that this has changed in the last few years.

"The government took good initiatives and gave emergency powers to vice chiefs for ammunition procurement. Delegation of full powers to vice chiefs was also given for revenue procurement. As a result of that lot of ammunition issues was resolved as the procurement was fast-tracked," General Naravane added.

Talking about the expectations and prioritising the defence budget the Army chief told the channel that he hoped the army's requirements are met in the upcoming allocation.

"Notwithstanding the allocation, over the years we have inducted high-tech platforms. There is nothing to be concerned, we will always be operationally prepared and ready to meet all exigencies," he said.

He said the army has sent its requirements to the government and hoped that the allocation will be made as per the current needs.

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