Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 15: The Defence Ministry said today that it was fully seized of the needs of armed forces in the country and along the borders and would take all steps for their modernization with increased allocation of funds.
“We are committed to modernization and capability development of the armed forces all over including the borders in Jammu and Kashmir for which all possible measures including accretion of manpower, procurement of weapons and infrastructure development are being taken up,’’ Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in response to written reply to Dr V Maitreyan in the Rajya Sabha today.
A copy of the written reply was released to media here by the Defence spokesperson.
“The modernization and capability development of the armed forces is being taken up very vigorously in the country including borders along Jammu and Kashmir taking into account their operational requirements and threat perception,’’ the Defence Minister said.
Pointing out that modernization and capability development of the armed forces were dynamic and continued process, he said these requirements will be met with and there can be no compromise with security needs of the armed forces.
Parrikar said the Government of India is fully seized of security needs of the country.
“We are fully aware of security needs of the country. Appropriate steps are being taken to ensure that the security concerns pertaining to the borders are adequately addressed through various measures including accretion of manpower, procurement of weapons & equipment and infrastructure development,’’ the Defence Minister said.
The armed forces in the country and along the borders will be equipped with best possible weaponry and infrastructure to defend the country’s borders and meet with any security threat.
The figures tabled by the Defence Minister in Rajya Sabha showed massive allocation for the armed forces to improve their weaponry, infrastructure and other requirements on the borders and elsewhere.
The figures revealed that as against Rs 58,768.86 crores kept for modernization and infrastructure development of armed force in 2012-13, the amount went up to Rs 66,850.30 crores.
However, during 2014-15, the amount approved by the Central Government went to all time high at Rs 75,148.03 crores, which showed the keenness on part of the Central Government towards preparedness of the troops every time to meet with any kind of eventuality along the borders.
Few days back, two top Army Commanders Lt Gen RR Nimbhorkar (General Officer Commanding 16 Corps) and Lt Gen Satish Dua (General Officer Commanding 15 Corps) had stated that a large number of militants were camping across the Line of Control (LoC) awaiting opportunities to sneak into the Indian territory.
The Army Commanders have also cautioned increase in infiltration attempts along the LoC during winters when visibility will become very poor on the borders and militants could try to take advantage of the situation to sneak into the Indian side.
The Army has already deployed modern and sophisticated gadgetry all along the borders to catch the militants well before they sneak into the Indian side.
Sources said during the past two years and the current year, i.e. from January 2013 till November 30, 2015, a total of 32 violations of Indian airspace by aircraft from other countries have been reported.
However, they added, there has been no violation of Indian maritime boundary by any country during this period. The reasons for such violations could not be ascertained.
“All such cases are taken up with the concerned countries through laid down channels as per established procedure,’’ they said.
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