By Ajit Dubey New Delhi [India], Indigenization in the defense sector under the Make in Indy policy has significantly helped the Indian Army in reducing its dependence on imports to meet its requirements. Senior defense officials said that private sector industry has emerged in this area. The ammunition has largely helped the force achieve this. The Indian Army has said that over the next few years, it intends to completely stop importing ammunition other than certain types of ammunition that would not be commercially viable to produce. The Indian Army has a budget of around Rs 20,000 crore to acquire ammunition for the existing inventory of weapon systems in the force.Till a few years ago, the force was spending about 35-40 per cent on purchasing ammunition from abroad. Now, that requirement has been reduced to less than 10 per cent, and we are looking at reducing it further over the next few years,'' the defense official told ANI, adding that the ammunition will be recycled from various sources. Indigenously designed for various types of weapon systems. Such as tanks, artillery guns, air defense missiles and multiple grenade launcher systems, indigenization of ammunition has not only cut down on import dependency but also helped the country expand its export base in the global market for ammunition. A large part of the requirement is also being met by indigenous public sector firms along with a significant share in the private sector industry. The force is also supporting the industry to develop the required ammunition and giving them time to further improve their products. Some of the industry partners that have helped the Army cut down imports include public sector Munitions India Ltd (ex-Ordnance Factory Board firm) and private sector Solar Industries Ltd, Adani Defence, Hughes Precision and SMPP Ltd.Many new companies are also coming into this sector, which will help in improvement. MIL, a public sector company, has been receiving large scale export orders for artillery shells and the demand in the global sector has helped in the development of supporting industries around it. Very high-end precision guided artillery ammunition is also being developed, officials said. by both private and public sector companies, which will be a great help to the artillery units of the Indian Army. Officials said increased production capabilities within the country can help meet all ammunition requirements from indigenous sources in times of emergency.