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India’s ministry of defense is expected to embark on initiatives aimed at strengthening its military ranks through the acquisition of more equipment and artillery. The main aim of this drive is to make its military more defensively prepared and to meet up with modern trends in security.

It is expected that this will cost the ministry $233 billion dollars over the next 11 years. The money is expected to be spent on purchasing weapons and other equipment from abroad as well as do buy locally made military hardware.

The defense ministry is believed to be seeking a budget increase in capital expenditure to the tune of 8% annually in order to finance these production and acquisition programs.

They plan to acquire 12 submarines, 170 fighter aircraft, 500 choppers, aircraft carriers, tanks and artillery guns in line with the Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) slated to be carried out between 2012 to 2027.

The country is also aiming to continue building its capacity to produce its military equipment like aircraft carriers locally with testing of Dhanush indigenous artillery guns already repeatedly done and awaiting induction into military ranks.

A military source was reported to have said that the sought spending hiked of 8% year-on-year was necessary to keep in sync with anticipated spikes prices that stood currently at 8% year-on-year also.

The LTIPP contains many details on the planned spending, but not the exact cost of the individual military hardware on the acquisition list. It, however, involves a detailed study of research and development through its Technology Perspective Capability Road Map (TPCRM) which is expected to involve the private sector, defense PSUs, and DRDO. Other bits of information gathered from it included the time frame, capabilities, and contingencies.