India is speeding a nearly $1 billion domestic weapons development program to modernize its armed forces, the defence research department said on Thursday, following renewed tensions with Pakistan over the attacks in Mumbai. The plans include inducting 124 main battle tanks for the Indian army by December, the first of a batch of locally-made combat aircraft for the navy also by the end of the year, and unammed aerial vehicles to boost border surveillance. “There is a certain push now to complete projects on time and deliver the goods for low intensity battles or to counter bigger security threats in the region,” Suranjan Pal, a spokesman of the government-run Defence Research and Development Organization, said. Tensions between India and Pakistan mounted after the attacks in Mumbai in November, which New Delhi said were carried out by Pakistani nationals and must have had support from Pakistani state agencies. Since the Mumbai attacks, local media has highlighted the many antiquated weapons system that India has, from artillery to tanks, and poor surveillance capabilities. “India's military capability had been shrinking as modernisation efforts were moving very slowly, but now there is more interest being shown,” said C. Uday Bhaskar, a strategic affairs expert. The modernization plans include developing the Agni-5 missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and hitting targets 5,000 km (3,100 miles) away, and torpedoes and planes for the navy. India is also one of the world's biggest arms importers.
