Indian Army may prune its sniper rifle requirement, reduce orders by 70%

The 1.3 million-strong Indian Army's previous efforts to buy 5,720 sniper rifles in a process that began in February 2018 was scrapped in July this year

The Indian Army plans to buy just 1,800 state-of-the-art sniper rifles and 2.7 million rounds of ammunition -- less than a third of its total requirement -- driven by budgetary constraints and the need to speed up deliveries, people with knowledge of the matter said.
 
The military pruned its original requirement of 5,720 sniper rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition, which would have cost $140 million, to prioritize spending and advance the purchase of more modern equipment, they said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
 
Indian Army spokesman Aman Anand said he had