India is set to finalize a $660
million deal for mobile heavy
artillery weapons -- its third
major gun purchase in the past
year and a sign Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s defense
spending spree is far from over,
according to people with
knowledge of the matter.
The deal, expected to be
approved in a cabinet decision
in the coming days after
extended commercial price
negotiations, is a big win for
Larsen & Toubro Ltd., a major
Indian infrastructure and
engineering company which
partnered with South Korea’s
Hanwha Techwin to modify the
howitzer for local conditions.
It’s part of Modi’s $250 billion
push to modernize the armed
forces and overcome a 30-year
lapse in its firepower
procurement program, as India
prepares to counter potential
threats from Pakistan and China.
Plans to buy new equipment
from overseas have been held
back by bureaucratic delays and
the military’s desire to balance
the needs of troops against
efforts to have equipment built
domestically under Modi’s
"Make in India" program.
An Indian Army officer, who did
not wish to be named as the
matter is yet to go public, said
the purchase contract for the
100 guns offered by L&T is
pending final clearance and will
soon go to the Cabinet
Committee on Security for
approval.
A second person familiar with
the discussions who could not
be named said the deal had
been approved by the Ministry
of Defence and was now with
the Ministry of Finance. The
proposal would be sent to
cabinet for endorsement soon,
they said.
Read More At PM Narendra Modi Close To Sealing 600 Million For Fire Power: Report - NDTV.com
million deal for mobile heavy
artillery weapons -- its third
major gun purchase in the past
year and a sign Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s defense
spending spree is far from over,
according to people with
knowledge of the matter.
The deal, expected to be
approved in a cabinet decision
in the coming days after
extended commercial price
negotiations, is a big win for
Larsen & Toubro Ltd., a major
Indian infrastructure and
engineering company which
partnered with South Korea’s
Hanwha Techwin to modify the
howitzer for local conditions.
It’s part of Modi’s $250 billion
push to modernize the armed
forces and overcome a 30-year
lapse in its firepower
procurement program, as India
prepares to counter potential
threats from Pakistan and China.
Plans to buy new equipment
from overseas have been held
back by bureaucratic delays and
the military’s desire to balance
the needs of troops against
efforts to have equipment built
domestically under Modi’s
"Make in India" program.
An Indian Army officer, who did
not wish to be named as the
matter is yet to go public, said
the purchase contract for the
100 guns offered by L&T is
pending final clearance and will
soon go to the Cabinet
Committee on Security for
approval.
A second person familiar with
the discussions who could not
be named said the deal had
been approved by the Ministry
of Defence and was now with
the Ministry of Finance. The
proposal would be sent to
cabinet for endorsement soon,
they said.
Read More At PM Narendra Modi Close To Sealing 600 Million For Fire Power: Report - NDTV.com
