New Delhi: Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu signed a contract for manufacturing AK203 rifles in the country. Under this contract five lakh AK203 rifles will be manufactured in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi under the 'Make in India' initiative.
Tagline as ‘Ek Rifle Shreshtha Rifle’ (One Rifle Best Rifle), these rifles will be manufactured at the erstwhile Korba OFB Plant in Amethi. For this purpose, both the countries have incorporated a new company named ‘India Russia Rifles Private Limited.’
This joint venture was made by combining Russia’s Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov and two new Indian companies Advance Weapons and Equipment Limited (AWEL) and Munich India Limited (MIL). Both these companies were created under the Ministry of Defence after the recent dissolution of the Ordnance Factory Board.
The AK-203 rifle is a 7.62x39mm caliber rifle that will 'replace' the outdated INSAS rifles. The AK-203 rifle has a range of about 300 meters and despite being a very light gun.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had inaugurated the Korba plant for manufacturing the AK203 Rifles. But due to some technical reasons, manufacturing did not start.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh underlined the importance of time tested relations between India and Russia and thanked Russia for its support. He also said that defence cooperation was one of the important pillars of the bilateral partnership, reported ANI.
During the meeting with Russian Defence Minister General Sergey Shoigu, Singh in his opening remarks said, "Defence cooperation is one of the most important pillars of our partnership. India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) is a well-established mechanism for the past two decades. I hope the India-Russia partnership will bring peace to the entire region and provide stability to the region.”
"India-Russia relations are time-tested, based on a common interest in multilateralism, global peace, prosperity and mutual understanding and trust," Singh added.
He also appreciated Russia’s strong support for India and hoped that the partnership would peace to the entire region.
“Rajnath Singh also appreciated Russia's strong support for India. "Our close cooperation is not targeted against any country. We hope that our partnership will bring peace and prosperity to the entire region," he added.
Defence Ministers of India and Russia meet every year, alternatively in Russia and India where they discuss and review the status of ongoing projects and topics related to military-technical cooperation.