The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs) for various capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 84,560 crore in an effort to boost the capabilities of the Armed Forces and the Indian Coast Guard.

The approval came under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, who gave a green light to the proposals. It includes New generation anti-tank mines, Air Defence Tactical Control Radar, Heavy Weight Torpedoes, Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft, Flight Refueller Aircraft and Software Defined Radios. The DAC is responsible for the procurement and acquisition of weapons, and military equipment for the Indian forces.

The amendments in Defence Acquisition Procedure in 2020 promote procurement of advanced technologies from Start-Ups and MSMEs including procurement of weaponry, armoured vehicles, advanced communication systems, and requisite surveillance equipment. A signifiant share of the procurement will be utilised on the upgrading current military infrastructure and initiating the production of cutting-edge weapons indigenously under the 'Make in India' initiative.

India granted the AoN under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category. “In the true spirit of ‘Aatmanirbharta’, the approvals was accorded on February 16, 2024 lay special emphasis on procurement of various equipment from Indian vendors,” the defense ministry said in a press release. It added that to strengthen the Air Defence Systems, especially the capabilities to detect slow, small and low-flying targets as well as surveillance, detection and tracking of different targets, the AoN has been accorded for procurement of Air Defence Tactical Control Radar.

Effort to bolster Indian Naval Ships' defenses against threats from adversaries

In an effort to bolster the Indian Naval Ships a step ahead of the threats posed by the adversaries, the AoN under Buy (Indian) category has been accorded for procurement of Active Towed Array Sonar having capabilities to operate at low frequencies and various depths for long range detections of adversary submarines. 

“The AoN has also been accorded for procurement of Heavy Weight Torpedoes for enhancing the attacking capabilities of Kalvari Class submarines. The AoN for sustainment support through Follow On Support (FOS) and Repair Replenishment support through Follow On Supply Support (FOSS) for 24 MH60R aircraft under Foreign Military Sale route with the US Government has also been accorded,” the ministry stated. DAC also accorded the AoN for procurement of Flight Refueller Aircraft for enhancing the operational capabilities and reach of the Indian Air Force as well as the Software Defined Radios for the ICG.

“This will fulfill the requirement of the ICG for having a high-speed communication with secure networking capability for seamless information exchange between the ICG and the Indian Navy units,” the ministry said.

In order to achieve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ vision, the DAC is approved amendments for a much-needed incentive supportive business environment for the start-ups and MSMEs under iDEX and TDF scheme.