Defence Ministry approves military acquisitions worth Rs 8,357 crore

Context – The Defence Ministry recently approved the procurement of Rs 8,357 crore worth of military platforms and hardware, including air defence fire control radar and GSAT-7B satellite.

Acquisition of these equipment and systems is stated to enhance operational preparedness of armed forces by providing better visibility, enhanced mobility, improved communication and increased capability of detecting enemy aircraft.

Key Highlights

• The grant of ‘Acceptance of Necessity’ clears the way for the tendering process to start.
• As an impetus to “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, all of the aforementioned proposals have been approved under “Buy Indian (IDDM)” category, the ministry noted. IDDM stands for indigenously designed, developed and manufactured.
• The DAC also accorded consolidated Acceptance of Necessity for procurements amounting to Rs 380.43 crore from the iDEX startups and MSMEs.
• The DAC also approved “effecting” certain policy initiatives in the Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 to “accelerate the pace of indigenisation, achieve self-reliance in defence and to facilitate ease of doing business for defence industry”.
• Another policy initiative effected in the Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 was that the vendors whose products are successfully trial evaluated will be provided a certificate to that effect.

About iDEX

The Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative was launched by April 2018 which aims to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace. Under the initiative, startups, MSMEs, individual innovators, R&D institutes and academia are engaged and funded by the Defence Ministry.

About Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020

• The DAP contains policies and procedures for procurement and acquisition from the capital budget of the MoD in order to modernize the Armed Forces including the Coast Guard.
• It aims to transform India into a global manufacturing hub. It is aligned with the vision of the Government of Atmanirbhar Bharat and empowering Indian domestic industry through Make in India initiative.

• Self-reliance in defence manufacturing is a crucial component of effective defence capability and to maintain national sovereignty and achieve military superiority. The DAP 2020 not only protects the interests of domestic manufacturers by indigenization of technology, but also provides impetus to foreign investment in the country.

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