Of the total, acquisition worth Rs 2.20 lakh crore will be sourced from domestic industries which includes 97 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force and 156 Prachand helicopters and the upgrade of the Su-30 fighter fleet
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, accorded approval for Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs) for various capital acquisition proposals amounting to Rs 2.23 lakh crore.
Of the total, acquisition worth Rs 2.20 lakh crore (98 per cent) will be sourced from domestic industries which includes 97 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and 156 Prachand helicopters and the upgrade of the Su-30 fighter fleet.
“This will give a substantial boost to the Indian Defence Industry towards the aim of achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbharta’,” a defence ministry statement said.
These procurement projects, along with the Su-30 upgrade programme, are expected to cost Rs 1.3 lakh crore. The first version of the Tejas LCA aircraft was introduced into the IAF in 2016. Currently, the IAF has two fully operational squadrons of LCA Tejas, namely 45 Squadron and 18 Squadron.
The council has accorded the AoN for procurement of two types of Anti-tank Munitions: Area Denial Munition (ADM) Type-2 and Type-3, which are capable of neutralising Tanks and Armoured personnel carriers and enemy personnel.
To replace the Indian Field Gun (IFG), which has completed its service life, AoN for procurement of a state-of-the-art Towed Gun System (TGS) has been granted which will become a mainstay of Artillery forces of the Indian Army.
The AoN was also accorded for 155 mm Nubless projectile for use in 155 mm Artillery guns which will enhance lethality and safety of the projectiles. All these types of equipment of the Indian Army will be procured under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
The AoN for procurement and integration of Automatic Target Tracker (ATT) and Digital Basaltic Computer (DBC) for T-90 Tanks under the Buy (India) category have also been accorded which will help in maintaining the combative edge of T-90 tanks over adversary platforms.
The AoN for procurement of Medium Range Anti-Ship Missiles (MRAShM) for the surface platform of the Indian Navy under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category has also been accorded. The MRAShM is envisaged as a lightweight Surface-to-Surface Missile which will be a primary offensive weapon onboard Indian Naval Ships.
In addition, the DAC accorded AoNs for procurement of Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Army and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk 1A for IAF from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The AoNs have also been accorded by the DAC for the upgradation of Su-30 MKI Aircraft indigenously from HAL.
While procurement of these types of equipment will provide enormous strength to the IAF, acquisition from domestic defence industries will take the indigenous capability to a new height. It will also reduce dependability on foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) substantially.
Further, the DAC has approved a major amendment in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. It has been decided that henceforth, in all categories of procurement cases, a minimum of 50 per cent of indigenous content shall be in the form of material, components and software that are manufactured in India.
For the calculation of Indigenous content, the cost of the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC), Comprehensive Maintenance Contract (CMC) and After-Sale Service (ASS) shall be excluded.
Also, the DAC has decided to encourage further start-ups and MSMEs’ participation in the defence ecosystem. For all procurement cases with AoN costs up to Rs 300 crore, registered MSMEs and recognised start-ups will be considered for the issue of a Request for Proposal (RFP) without any stipulation of financial parameters, which can further be relaxed with approval of the Defence Procurement Board (DPB) for AoN cost upto Rs 500 crore on a case-to-case basis.
On the development, Lt Col JS Sodhi (Retd) said that the decision to purchase LCA Tejas and Prachand Helicopter is very important when we have only 28 squadrons of fighter jets against the authorised 42 squadrons.
He also said by quoting a paper published in 2013 that China would fight six wars in the next 50 years and the third war would be a two-front war against India and simultaneously Pakistan would also attack India’s Jammu and Kashmir which might be difficult for India so it’s time to prepare for any unforeseen war.
Former chief of army staff, MM Naravane also said earlier this year that two fronts might be difficult for India.
“LCA Tejas will be a great help to meet the shortfalls and boost the air combat potential of the Indian Air Force and Prachand Helicopter will be given to both the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. Apart from combat role, these chopper is also useful for casualty evacuation and transportation of personnel,” Sodhi added.
With ANI inputs