Defense Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister approves proposals of value Rs.13,165 cr.
New Delhi: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in its meeting of 29 September 2021 held under the Chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisitions proposals for modernization and operational needs of the Indian Armed Forces amounting to approx. Rs.13,165cr. Of the total amount approved, procurement is worth Rs. 11,486cr. (87%) is from domestic sources.
Key approvals include helicopters, guided munition, and rocket ammunition. Looking into the need of the Indian Army for an Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Squadron, to improve its integral lift capability ensuring its operational preparedness, the DAC accorded approval of procurement of 25 ALH Mark III helicopters from M/s HAL under Buy Indian-IDDM at an approx. Cost of Rs.3,850 cr, in keeping with the continued thrust towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’. Giving a boost to Indigenous Design and Development of ammunitions, DAC accorded approval for procurement of Terminally Guided Munition (TGM) and HEPF/RHE Rocket Ammunition under Buy(Indian-IDDM) category at an approx cost ofRs.4,962 cr. from domestic sources. Other proposals worth Rs. 4,353 cr. were also accorded AoN by the DAC.
In addition, the DAC also approved a few amendments to the DAP 2020 as a part of Business Process Re-engineering to ensure further ease of doing business for the industry as well as measures to enhance procurement efficiency and reducing timelines.
_Vinayak Barot
