Artillery import embargo put off, doors open for Rs 23,700 cr Israeli guns

With the ATAGS priced at about Rs 15 crore per gun, an order for 1,580 ATAGS would generate business worth Rs 23,700 crore for the Indian defence production eco-system

On August 9, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cited the Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative to ban the import of artillery guns from December 2020. Twelve days later, the MoD backtracked and allowed imports for an extra year, clearing the decks for importing up to 1,580 guns from Israeli company, Elbit Systems.

In late 2019, an MoD-constituted “Cost Negotiating Committee” (CNC) agreed a price with Elbit Systems for buying 400 towed artillery guns and building another 1,180 in India. Indian industry executives believe that postponement of the import embargo will see the MoD signing a contract with Elbit.

Indian defence