NewDelhi: Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has said that the force is ready to fight with whatever weapons are available. The Army chief has also clarified that the process of arms procurement is continuing. This came after a series of reports were submitted by a parliamentary committee.
In one of the reports submitted by the parliamentary committee, the Army had flagged financial crunch which prevented them from modernising and purchasing new weapons. The financial crunch was crippling combat capabilities, the army reportedly said in the report.
Referring to the issue of some weapons becoming outdated, the Army chief said they have not become obsolete overnight. Pointing that the issue has been raised in past as well, General Rawat said that Army jawans have been trained to fight with whatever weapons available.
This comes just days after General Rawat said that it’s a myth that the entire defence expenditure is utilised only for maintaining military. “Is entire defence expenditure being utilised only for maintaining military? This is a myth I wish to dispel,” the Army chief had said during a media interaction.
General Rawat had added that almost 35 per cent of the budget allocation for the defence sector is utilised for the purpose of nation building. Among examples he mentioned development of infrastructure in border areas.
“When we develop infrastructure on our borders, we are connecting the people who live in far areas with mainland. This helps in uniting the nation,” said General Rawat.
The Army chief also had a message for Pakistan, saying India has the “option of going to the next level” if the neighbour raises the threshold any higher, referring to repeated incidents of ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC).
During the same media interaction, Rawat had acknowledged the military might of China, saying “Chinese have finally arrived”. The Army chief pointed that China ensured rise of its military power along with its economic prowess.
“Chinese have finally arrived. I can say that. They did not forget that military power should rise simultaneously with economy,” said General Rawat. He further acknowledged that China stands “strong today in the world order, challenging the might of the US”.
Bureau Report
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