The Indian soldier’s wait for a modern Infantry Combat Vehicle that will carry him into battle protected from enemy fire, continues without an end in sight. A `60,000 crore project, one of the largest indigenous programmes, to build 2,610 Future Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICVs) continues in endless rounds of discussions since October 2016.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) bureaucrats are believed to be uncomfortable over footing an estimated `800 crore bill for funding the prototype building. They have instead suggested that the shortlisted private sector firms fund the building of two prototypes out of their own pockets. The firms say they can’t fund the project, buy or develop the technology because there is no guarantee they will get an order. The problem, as a defence industry official familiar with the project says, is the MoD’s inherent distrust of the private sector.Read More…
