DAC gives nod to nine proposals worth Rs 45,000 cr in a big boost to Aatmanirbharta in defence

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given its nod to proposals worth Rs 45,000 crore to give a substantial boost to the Indian defence industry towards achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the Defence Ministry said in a release on Friday.

The ministry said that all procurements will be made from indigenous vendors only under Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDMM)/Buy (Indian) category.

"To enhance protection, mobility, attack capability and increased survivability of Mechanised Forces, the DAC accorded the AoN for procurement of Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicles (LAMV) and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System (ISAT-S). The DAC cleared AoN for procurement of High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) Gun Towing Vehicles for swift mobilisation and deployment of Artillery Guns and Radars," the release said.

The DAC also approved the procurement of next generation survey vessels for the Indian Navy, which will greatly enhance its capabilities in performing hydrographic operations.

Further, the DAC also accorded AoN for proposals of the Indian Air Force which included Avionic upgradation of Dornier Aircraft to improve the accuracy and reliability for operations. The procurement of Dhruvastra Short Range Air-to-Surface Missile as a potent Indigenous Precision Guided Weapon for indigenously built ALH Mk-IV Helicopters has been cleared by the DAC. The AoN for procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI Aircraft with associated equipment from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was also accorded.

During the meeting, defence minister Rajnath Singh stated that it is time to upgrade the ambitions towards indigenisation. "Rather than a threshold of 50% indigenous content for IDDM projects, we should aim for a minimum 60-65% indigenous content," he said. Singh also directed the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, Defence Secretary and DG (Acquisition) to work towards increasing the minimum indigenous content threshold in consultation with the Indian Industry.