Media Eye News Bureau: The defence ministry approved capital acquisition proposals at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) worth Rs 15,935 crore which included purchase of 7.40 lakh assault rifles, 5,719 sniper rifles and light machine guns for the armed forces.

The approval came after the attacks by Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir as well as China's invasion in several sectors along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border.

The ministry issued a statement and said that ‘essential quantity’ of Light Machine Guns (LMGs) will be procured to meet the operational requirement of the troops deployed on the borders as well as sniper rifles for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force at an estimated. The rifles will be bought under the 'Buy Global' category; the ammunition for these weapons will be initially procured and subsequently manufactured in India.

The DAC also approved the procurement of Advanced Torpedo Decoy Systems (ATDS) for the Indian Navy to enhance its anti-submarine warfare capabilities the ministry said.