The recent order of 73,000 SIG Sauer rifles has triggered debate on India’s long quest for a modern rifle. The India-Russia AK-203 joint production under ‘Make in India’ holds the key.
Army has put in fresh order for 73,000 SIG 716 G2 patrol assault or battlefield rifles, chambered for 7.62x51 mm rounds from US firm SIG Sauer, attracting criticism for continued imports.
In February 2019, 72,400 SiG 716 rifles of 7.62 x 51mm calibre were contracted from SIG Sauer Inc, USA, under government's 'Buy (Global) category', through fast track procedure.
The SiG 716 rifles lacked certain add-ons when first handed to soldiers at LoC in Dec 2019. However, minor tweaks to equip it with night sight, better grip & more cost-effective ammunition has made it formidable.
Increasingly, lenders have stepped in where equity funding has slowed amid global market volatility. But instead of helping startups, they end up extracting a pound of flesh that outlasts the crisis itself.
Rural ownership of motor vehicles jumped from 19 percent in 2011-2012 to 59 percent in 2023-2024, while urban rose from 40 percent to 68 percent during the same time period, study by two members of PM-EAC says.
At the Jindal Literature Festival, Maj Gen (Retd) Lakhwinder Singh reveals secrets from 25 years ago, speaking about the decision that outwitted Musharraf and changed the course of the war.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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