CRPF chief seeks better weapons from Indian defence firms

NEW DELHI: Import of gadgets and weapons for the security forces is "not a happy situation" as foreign manufacturers do not meet Indian requirements in an optimal fashion, the CRPF chief today said.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Pranay Sahay also said that indigenous research and development done by local companies was "not upto the mark".

"We have seen that the local industry has been unable to produce what the forces need. The gadgets and weapons are largely imported and this is not at all a happy situation. The gadgets that get manufactured there (in foreign) do not meet our requirements in an optimal fashion," he said at a conference organised by industry body PHDCCI.

Speaking on 'Expectation of Counter-insurgency Forces from Industry,' the CRPF chief, whose about 3-lakh personnel is the mainstay of counter-Maoist operations, said procurement of high-end gadgets like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and weaponry is being done from overseas which is a time taking exercise and is "affecting operations."

As the procurement requirements of the central security forces keep fluctuating, only second rung international companies participate and "we have to depend on indigenous organisations like DRDO, Ordnance factories and central public sector undertakings."

"They (Indian firms and PSUs) have their own limitations.They cannot produce as much as we need," he said.

"The local research and development has not been upto the mark," he said.