The quick decisions taken by the State government help in expediting the process of procurement. The deals are the State level close faster compared to the larger deals. The weapons and equipment for the Paramilitary forces is a State Subject

Three state governments are set to ink agreement for the procurement of the Russian Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifles. “The proposals for the AK-103 assault rifles are submitted, commercial talks are over and contracts are expected to be signed very soon with three State governments including Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. These assault rifles are being procured for the police and paramilitary forces in these states,” a source familiar with the discussions confirmed to Financial Express Online.

According to the source quoted above, “Though the numbers being procured are not big, more and more states are expected to conclude discussion in the next few months. The deals for these assault rifles for the three states are expected to be firmed up in a month’s time as there is urgency for these rifles for the Para military forces.”

Why Are These Deals Important?

The deals are the State level close faster compared to the larger deals. The weapons and equipment for the Paramilitary forces is a State Subject.

The quick decisions taken by the State government help in expediting the process of procurement.

The recent Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh which claimed lives of 22 security personnel has played a critical role in plans to close the deal with the Russian company at the earliest. The Russian rifles will help the Paramilitary forces to fight the Naxals.

The orders going to be placed will be small, but are important as the Make in India AK-203 is getting delayed. This means, that the small number of assault rifles will come directly from Russia and once the factory based in Amethi starts functioning, they will be later manufactured in India.

More About AK-103

The AK-103 is a more modern variant of the world famous Russian assault rifle. The Russian rifle is expected to meet the requirement for several thousands of the assault rifles for the State forces. This version of AK-103 is already in use in Indonesia and Venezuela.

The Kalashnikov AK-101, AK-102, AK-103 and AK-104 rifles are the new and modern versions of the famous Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. This was developed for firing 5.56mm and 7.62mm cartridges.

More than 7, 50,000 units of AK-103 assault rifles, the third generation of AK-47, are expected to be produced at the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) facility which is located in UP. The facility was set up in 2010, and once the production starts under joint venture between Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern and OFB – this will be the biggest ever.

As has been reported earlier, these rifles when manufactured in India will be for the security forces and after completing the orders in India can be exported to friendly nations.