New Delhi: The government has issued 22,804 licenses with all India clearance of guns since 2018 and most of them, 17,905 licenses, were issued to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. According to data from the Union Home Ministry, a total of 94,400 arms licenses with all-India validity were renewed from January 1, 2018, to September 15, 2020, of which 19,238 were from Uttar Pradesh followed by 14,172 from Jammu Kashmir and 12,230 from Haryana.
Out of 22,805 new arms licenses issued across the country from January 1, 2018, to September 15 this year, 17,905 were issued in Jammu and Kashmir, while in second place Uttar Pradesh, only 952 new licenses were issued.
During this period, 666 new arms licenses were issued in Madhya Pradesh, 623 for Himachal Pradesh and 314 for Punjab. The Home Ministry data stated that out of the total 2,435 arms licenses canceled between January 1, 2018 and September 15, 2020, maximum were from Uttar Pradesh (1911) while in other states the number of canceled arms licenses was in the tens.
Arms licenses are granted, renewed and revoked under the Arms Act, 1959 and Arms Rules 2016. While all India validity licenses for restricted category weapons are issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, licenses for arms of sanctioned categories are issued by the State Governments or Union Territory Administrations.
