New Delhi, March 22, 2018 (PPI-OT): The Indian armed forces are facing a shortage of over 52,000 soldiers with the Army topping the list with over 21,000 vacant posts. The details provided by Indian Minister of State for Defence, Subhash Bhamre, to the Lok Sabha, say, “The Army is reeling under a shortage of 21,383 personnel, while the number of vacant posts in the Navy is 16,348 and 15,010 in the Air Force.” Replying to a question, he said 7,680 posts of officers are lying vacant in the Army.
To a question on the Rafale deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said all relevant procedures were followed to ensure transparency in the acquisition of the 36 jets. India had in 2016 inked an inter-governmental agreement with France for procuring 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore. The delivery of the jets is scheduled to begin from September 2019.
The Congress has been demanding details of the agreement, including the cost of equipment and weapons, alleging that the deal negotiated under its rule was much cheaper than the contract signed by the Modi government.
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