Army to beef up along Indo-China border; likely to add 1 lakh personnel

02 Nov 2011 Evaluate

Amid challenging conditions along Indo-China border due to increasing presence of Chinese soldiers, Indian army is likely to increase its strength by recruiting 1 lakh personnel. Army will be inducting 90,000 soldiers over next five years during the 12th five-year plan period from 2012 to 2017. Also, all the said soldiers will be deployed along India-China border.

For the aforesaid move, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved Rs 64,000-crore (approximately $13 billion) military modernization plan. This is the biggest ever package for the Army. These funds will be employed for raising four new divisions along the India-China border of which two would be part of a Mountain Strike Corps dedicated to offensive operations. The modernization plan also includes raising two independent brigades, one in Ladakh and the other in Uttarakhand.

The proposed modernization plan includes a comprehensive overhaul and upgrade of the army's fire-power, logistical capabilities and other aspects of the China border deployment. The army aims doubling its projected requirement for ultra-light Howitzers for mountains and it would also require a major addition to helicopter capabilities.

Although, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to China has eased tensions between two neighbouring nations. Singh during his visit had cited that relations between New Delhi and Beijing are quite good and that he was convinced that Chinese leadership was committed for peaceful resolution of disputes. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Jiang Yu replied saying 'we have taken note of the statement by Prime Minister Singh. As important neighbours to each other, China and India have maintained sound momentum in the bilateral relationship'. However, the increasing presence of Chinese Army along border has coerced Indian counterpart to make its presence felt on the other side.

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