By Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — The Indian Army is facing an acute shortage of ammunition, and even the War Wastage Reserve, which is required to maintain supplies for at least a 40-day war, has fallen to a 20-day supply, according to the latest report of India's Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The 79-page "Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Ammunition Management in Army," for the year ended March 2013, says there was a shortage for 125 of the 170 types of ammunition used, mainly for armored fighting vehicles, artillery guns and by the infantry. Defense News has a copy of the report, which was released in May.
A Defence Ministry official, while admitting to the shortage, said supplies have increased by more than 15 percent since 2013.
In addition to shortages, an Army official said, the quality of ammunition procured from the state-owned ordnance factories, the only source of ammunition supplies, is inferior. India does not permit the manufacturing of ammunition by the private sector. Ammunition is procured either from the ordnance factories managed by the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) or through imports, largely from Russia.
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