- Saturday, April 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Indian defence ministry on Tuesday (23) gave its final clearance to a deal worth over Rs 5,000 crore (£502 million) with Russia to manufacture 7.5 lakh (0.75 million) AK-203 assault rifles in Amethi in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
The development happened ahead of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s expected visit to India in December.
The AK-203 assault rifles deal, which may be inked during Putin’s visit, was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council on Tuesday, sources in the defence ministry told Asian News International.
“A Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting today gave its final approval to the over Rs 5000 crore Kalashnikov deal which will be made in Amethi in joint venture,” they said.
India and Russia agreed upon the deal a few years ago and the last major issue that remains to be resolved is related to transfer of technology, the sources added.
Of the 7.5 lakh rifles to be acquired by the Indian Army, the first 70,000 will include Russian-made components since the transfer of technology take places gradually.
The weapons will be handed over to the army 32 months after the production process kicks off, ANI added.
