India develops indigenous Ugram assault rifle clearing Army and Ministry of Home Affairs trials

Key facts

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) through the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) developed the indigenous assault rifle named Ugram.
• The Ugram rifle is chambered for the 7.62×51mm cartridge, weighs under four kilograms, and has an effective range of 500 metres.
• The rifle has cleared trials by the Indian Army and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and will be manufactured by Hyderabad-based Dvipa Defence India Private Limited.
• The weapon is likely to be procured by several Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and the National Security Guard (NSG).
• The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth ₹2,770 crore for the procurement of 4.25 lakh Close Quarter Battle (CQB) carbines for the Army and Navy, to be produced by Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL) and PLR Systems Pvt Ltd.