Indian Army lacks ammunition and cannot fight a war longer than 10 days, says CAG report
The audit found that a Defence Ministry plan chalked out in 2013 to meet the artillery deficit by 2019 had not been implemented yet.
Around 40% of the Indian Army’s ammunition will not last more than 10 days in a war, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in a report released Friday. The CAG report presented in Parliament said that the military does not have the minimum required stock of 55% of the 152 types of arms it uses for operational preparedness in case of war, reported NDTV.
The CAG report also noted that a Defence Ministry plan chalked out in 2013 to meet the deficit in the Army’s artillery by 2019 had not been implemented yet. Some of the Army Headquarters’ requests for ammunition, which date back to 2009, have not been acted on yet either, it added.
The audit also found deficiencies in the performance of the Ordnance Factory Board, which manufactures 90% of military equipment, and that the functioning of its factories had not improved since 2013, reported ANI.
The report further said that there was a dearth of high-calibre ammunition and artillery, such as fuzes, which are fitted to artillery shells just before they are fired. Their availablity had dropped by 6% from 89% in 2013 to 83% in 2017.
‘Telecom companies have understated revenue’
In another report tabled in Parliament on Friday, the CAG said private telecom companies had under-reported revenue by Rs 61,064 crore from 2010 to 2015. The CAG came to the conclusion after auditing six companies – Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communication and Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd, reported the Hindustan Times.
This under-reporting had cost the government Rs 7,697 crore in losses in the form of spectrum charges and licensing fees, the report said, blaming the need for understating the revenue on promotional offers and discounts.
Other audits
The CAG also released reports on the National Rural Health Mission and the Indian Railways’ food services.
Its audit of NHRM’s 2015-’16 budgets found that eight states had not spent more than 40% of their funds. The CAG report on the Indian Railways’ catering services found that the food they served was unfit for human consumption.