Modi clears US$19b of arms procurement proposals

New Delhi

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has cleared US$19 billion of arms procurement proposals since taking power in May, almost double India's spending on weapons in the last fiscal year as he tries to modernise the country's military.

The blitz of 41 approvals spans heavy guns to submarines as Mr Modi seeks to counter China's rising military heft and take a firmer stance on border disputes with Pakistan. The vice chief of the Indian Air Force, for one, has never seen anything like this pace from the nation's Defence Acquisition Council.