New Delhi, July 17
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) tonight approved in principle a specialised Mountain Strike Corps aimed at increasing military strength along the China frontier. The committee headed by the Prime Minister is the highest decision making body on security matters.

The Finance Ministry had earlier given its approval for raising the corps. The expense of Rs 64,000 crore will now be spread across seven years and not five as planned originally, sources said.

The Mountain Strike Corps - a first of its kind for the Indian forces - will have around 50,000 soldiers. Two special divisions will be backed by an airlift ability to deploy fully armed troops at short notice.

US-made transport aircraft - the C-130-J Super Hercules - and twin-rotor heavy lift helicopter - the Chinook -will be part of the corps.

The IAF and the Army are readying seven advanced landing grounds in Arunachal Pradesh for quick deployment of troops, besides a host of helipads.

The corps will be armed with specialised artillery guns - the ultra-light Howitzer - that can be lifted by the Chinook helicopter for deployment on mountain tops, besides night fighting ability and specialised vehicles.

Attack helicopters and fighter jets such as the Su-30MKI, already based in the North-East, will be incorporated into the corps. The IAF has created a “swing fleet” to allow rapid movement of fighters from one part of the country to another.

The corps is aimed at countering threats from China, which has put in place a rapid deployment capability based on mechanised vehicles and aircraft and railway tracks allowing quick movement across the flat Tibetan plateau on its side.

Army Chief General Bikram Singh has been pushing for the Mountain Strike Corps since the start of his tenure in June last year. This is a part of the Army’s new policy of tackling threats from Pakistan and China. The three strike corps currently based at Ambala, Mathura and Bhopal are oriented towards Pakistan.

The Mountain Strike Corps is the biggest force accretion plan for the Army in the past two decades. The Army last raised a new corps - the Leh-based 14 corps - soon after the Kargil war in 1999.