§ MR. BELL (Derby)To ask the Secretary of State for India whether in view of the fact that a factory for small arms has been erected, or is in course of erection, in India, he will say how much has been expended on buildings and plant, and what further sums are to be expended on these; and can he state to what extent this factory will decrease the necessity of relying on private factories for the manufacture of small arms.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.). The estimated total initial expenditure on 1092 the buildings and plant is Rs. 37,50,000. The whole of this sum was included in the Estimates for the years 1902–3 and l903–4. The actual expenditure has not yet been reported by the Government of India. The object of establishing this factory is to make India to a large extent self-supporting in the manufacture of small arms, and this must to some extent diminish the expenditure on supplies from private factories.