LUCKNOW, Sept. 23 -- Uttar Pradesh is preparing a large-scale weapons training exercise for 41,424 newly recru- ited home guards, with the department set to procure more than 10 lakh rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition and 155 SLR rifles at a combined estimated cost of nearly Rs.4.99 crore, informed senior government officials in a press note shared by the state government media cell on Tuesday. The officials said the ammunition will cost around Rs.3.55 crore and the rifles Rs.1.44 crore. The procurement will be made through the Special Task Force (STF). The department said this is the first time over 10 lakh rounds are being procured specifically for home guard training in the state. The recruitment process is in its final stage, with the physical efficiency test (PET) nearing completion. The result is expected by the end of September, followed by a medical examination and police verification in October. The selected candidates will undergo a 90-day course starting in November, complete it in January and be deployed in the field in February. Director general, home guards, Dhruva Kant Thakur said the course will cover home guard duties, discipline, assistance in law-and-order manage- ment, disaster response and weapons handling and firing. The state has a sanctioned strength of 1,18,348 home guard volunteers, against which 69,324 are currently working. After the ongoing recruitment, the department plans to issue an advertisement for the remaining 7,600 vacancies....