The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting
under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, was held on 26 July
2022. Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisition Proposals of the
Armed Forces amounting to Rs 28,732 crore were accorded by the DAC in this
meeting under Buy (Indian IDDM) and Buy (Indian) categories giving a further
boost to ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in Defence.
Among the proposals approved by DAC in the
meeting are three proposals of the Indian Army, viz. Guided Extended Range
Rocket Ammunition, Area Denial Munition Type I and Infantry Combat Vehicle –
Command have been designed and developed by DRDO. The total value of these
three proposals is Rs 8,599 crore. Guided Extended Range Rocket Ammunition has
the range of 75 kms with accuracy of 40 meters. The Aerial Denial Munition Type
I Rocket Ammunition contains dual purpose sub munitions capable of neutralising
both tanks and armoured personnel carriers as well as B vehicle entrenched
troops. The Infantry Combat Vehicle – Command is equipped with technology to
collect, disseminate, share and present real time information to commanders to
facilitate quick decision making for execution of tasks.
Considering the demand of enhanced protection
against the threat of enemy snipers to our troops deployed along the Line of
Control and in close combat operations in counter terrorism scenario, DAC
accorded AoN for Bullet Proof Jackets with Indian Standard BIS VI level of
protection. To combat the current complex paradigm of conventional and hybrid
warfare and counter terrorism at the borders, AoN for induction of approx. four
lakh of Close Quarter Battle Carbines for the Services has also been accorded
by the DAC. This is set to provide major impetus to the small arms
manufacturing industry in India and enhancing ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in small
arms.
In the recent conflicts across the world,
drone technology proved to be a force multiplier in military operations.
Accordingly, to augment Indian Army’s capability in modern warfare, AoN for
procurement of Autonomous Surveillance and Armed Drone Swarms has been accorded
by the DAC under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
The DAC also approved Navy’s proposal to
procure upgraded 1250KW capacity Marine Gas Turbine Generator for power
generation application onboard Kolkata class of ships through Indian Industry.
This will give a major boost to indigenous manufacturing of gas turbine
generators.
In order to enhance the security in the coastal
region of the country, the DAC also approved the proposal of procurement of 14
Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for Indian Coast Guard under the Buy (Indian-IDDM)
with 60% IC.
Weaponry
manufacturing units
In
order to promote ‘Make in India’ in defence sector, the Government has issued
584 Defence Licenses to 358 private companies for setting up of manufacturing
units, including 107 licenses for weapon manufacturing. In addition, there are
16 Defence Public Sector Companies manufacturing various platforms &
equipment for the Armed Forces.
Self
reliance in defence manufacturing
The
Government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and
brought in reforms to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture
of defence equipment in the country, thereby expanding the production of
indigenous defence equipment. These initiatives, inter-alia, include according
priority to procurement of capital items from domestic sources under Defence
Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020; Announcement of 18 major defence platforms
for industry led design and development in March 2022; Notification of three
‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ of total 310 items of Services and two
‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ of total 2958 items of Defence Public Sector
Undertakings (DPSUs) for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond
the timelines indicated against them; Simplification of Industrial licensing
process with longer validity period; Liberalization of Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) policy allowing 74% FDI under automatic route; Simplification
of Make Procedure; Launch of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme
involving start-ups & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs);
Implementation of Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017;
Launch of an indigenization portal namely SRIJAN to facilitate indigenization
by Indian Industry including MSMEs; Reforms in Offset policy with thrust on
attracting investment and Transfer of Technology for Defence Manufacturing by
assigning higher multipliers; and Establishment of two Defence
Industrial Corridors, one each in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; Opening up of
Defence Research & Development (R&D) for industry, start-ups and
academia with 25% of defence R&D budget earmarked to promote development of
defence technology in the country; Progressive increase in allocation of
Defence Budget of military modernisation for procurement from domestic sources,
etc.
With
these actions of the Government, the expenditure on defence procurement from
foreign sources which used to be 46% of the overall expenditure has reduced to
36% in the last four years i.e.
2018-19 to 2021-22.