Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Defence Acquisition Council clears proposals worth Rs 76,390 crore

Aatmanirbhar Bharat: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Monday accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisition Proposals of the Armed Forces amounting to Rs 76,390 crore. These proposals are under ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ categories,  as per the official release said.

The meeting was headed by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh on June 06, 2022.

"This will provide substantial boost to the Indian Defence Industry and reduce foreign spending significantly," the release further said.

For the Indian Army, the DAC accorded fresh AoNs for procurement of Rough Terrain Fork Lift Trucks (RTFLTs), Bridge Laying Tanks (BLTs), Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (Wh AFVs) with Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) and Weapon Locating Radars (WLRs) through domestic sources with emphasis on indigenous design and development, the defence ministry said.

According to the release, "For the Indian Navy, the DAC accorded AoN for procurement of Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) at an estimated cost of approx. Rs 36,000 crore. These NGCs will be versatile platforms for a variety of roles viz. surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, Surface Action Group (SAG) operations, Search & Attack and Coastal Defence."

 These NGCs would be constructed based on the new in-house design of the Indian Navy using the latest technology of ship building and would contribute to further the Government’s initiative of SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region), it further said.

The DAC accorded AoNs for the manufacture of Dornier Aircrafts and Su-30 MKI aero-engines by the Navratna CPSE M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with a focus on enhancing indigenisation, particularly in indigenising aero-engine material.

In pursuance of the Government’s vision for digital transformation in Defence, the ‘Digital Coast Guard’ project under the ‘Buy (Indian) Category has been approved by the DAC. Under this project, a pan India secure network for digitising of various surface and aviation operations, logistics, finance and HR processes in the Coast Guard will be established.