New Delhi: India’s Public Accounts Committee defence report has raised serious concerns over a ₹62.10 crore loss linked to the replacement of defective ammunition supplied to the Indian Army. The parliamentary scrutiny also revisited long delays in the indigenous Dhanush artillery programme and called for stronger quality testing, better planning, skilled manpower and tighter project monitoring. The findings are significant because ammunition reliability and timely artillery modernisation directly affect the Army’s operational preparedness.
The latest parliamentary examination is based on older audit findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), but it brings them back into focus with recommendations aimed at preventing similar problems in future defence programmes.
Public Accounts Committee Defence Report: Details of ₹62.10 Crore Defective Ammunition Case
The issue goes back to ammunition supplied by Ordnance Factory Badmal in Odisha to the Indian Army. According to the official CAG findings, the Army reported exudation, or leakage, of explosive material from ammunition that had been supplied in March 2009 and March 2010. Importantly, the ammunition was still within its shelf life when the problem emerged. The problem was linked to the set point, or melting point, of TNT explosive being below the specified range.
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The CAG found that the TNT set-point value had not been tested at Ordnance Factory Badmal before the explosive mixture was filled into shells. The required testing provision was absent from the Controllerate of Quality Assurance specification.
The factory ultimately had to replace defective ammunition supplied to the Army. The CAG calculated a ₹62.10 crore loss from this replacement.
How Much Ammunition Had to be Replaced
According to the parliamentary committee findings reported after the PAC report was presented, the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board had to provide 14,159 replacement ammunition rounds free of cost to the Army.
The PAC has now recommended that the Ministry of Defence revisit relevant ammunition-testing specifications and methods, particularly for ammunition under development at ordnance factories.
Why is the Ammunition Problem Important for the Army
A defective artillery round is not only a financial problem. Ammunition must remain safe and reliable during its specified storage life and work correctly when required in training or combat. This is why the PAC has called for stringent quality tests and trials to prevent similar incidents.
The episode also shows how a missing testing requirement can create a chain of problems—from manufacturing and quality assurance to replacement costs and military stock availability.
Public Accounts Committee Defence Report: Dhanush Artillery Delays into Focus
The parliamentary scrutiny is important for another reason: the PAC has also examined the long-running issue of delays in the 155mm/45 calibre Dhanush artillery gun programme. This is not a new concern.
The CAG had already highlighted Dhanush production delays in its Report No. 13 of 2018, and the issue subsequently became a subject for examination by the Public Accounts Committee. Parliamentary committee records show that the PAC continued examining both the Dhanush issue and the ₹62.10 crore ammunition case during 2025-26.
What did the CAG Originally Say About Dhanush
According to the CAG’s official 2018 report, the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board started development of the electronically upgraded 155mm/45 calibre Dhanush system in 2011. The programme was based on technology obtained during India’s earlier procurement of 155mm/39 calibre guns in 1986.
At the time of the audit, Dhanush had still not fully cleared user trials. The CAG said the delay contributed to the continued shortage of modern artillery guns in the Army.
That historical context matters because Dhanush was intended to help India build a modern artillery capability at home rather than remain heavily dependent on imported systems.
Public Accounts Committee Defence Report: Dhanush Eventually Entered Production
The programme later achieved major milestones. In February 2019, the Ministry of Defence announced bulk production clearance for 114 Dhanush guns. The first six guns were formally handed over to the Indian Army in April that year. The Ministry described Dhanush as India’s first indigenously produced long-range 155mm/45 calibre artillery gun.
The project involved the Ordnance Factory Board and Indian Army, with contributions from organisations including DRDO, DGQA, BEL, SAIL and private-sector companies.
Why did the Dhanush Programme Face Delays
The wider PAC examination has focused on issues including infrastructure, production processes and shortages of specialised technical expertise.
The committee has also highlighted the importance of expertise in areas such as ballistics, gun electronics and integration of advanced sighting systems.
The underlying lesson is that developing a complex weapon domestically requires much more than designing the weapon itself. Manufacturing facilities, skilled engineers, supply chains, testing infrastructure and quality-control systems must all develop together.
The CAG’s earlier finding demonstrates how serious the delay became: although development had begun in 2011, the gun was still awaiting complete user-trial clearance when the 2018 audit examined the programme.
Dhanush is More Than a Replacement Gun
Dhanush represents India’s attempt to use existing artillery knowledge and domestic engineering capability to create a more modern weapon.
Official Ministry of Defence information says the system includes an inertial-navigation-based sighting system, onboard ballistic computation, auto-laying and advanced day-and-night direct firing capability.
Its development therefore represents a wider shift from simply manufacturing an older design toward integrating electronics, navigation and automated fire-control technologies into an Indian artillery platform.
That makes delays especially important: when development takes too long, military requirements and technology can continue changing while a system is still moving through development and production.
What Does PAC Want Changed?
The committee’s examination points toward several broad reforms: stronger quality-control procedures, earlier identification of capability and infrastructure gaps, better technical skills, improved supply-chain management and tighter monitoring of defence projects.
For ammunition specifically, the recommendation is particularly clear—testing specifications and methods should be reviewed so that products under development face stringent quality tests and trials.
For complex indigenous weapons programmes, the larger lesson is to assess manufacturing capacity and technical requirements before large-scale execution begins.
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