Defence Acquisition Council clears proposals worth Rs 76,390 crore

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India’s Defence Acquisition Council on June 6 cleared capital acquisition proposals of the armed forces amounting to Rs 76,390 crore under various categories for domestic procurements.

“This will provide substantial boost to the Indian defence industry and reduce foreign spending significantly,” the ministry of defence said in a statement.

For the army, the council accorded fresh approvals for procurement of rough terrain fork lift trucks, bridge laying tanks, wheeled armoured fighting vehicles with anti-tank guided missiles and weapon locating radars, the ministry said.

Also read: Rs 3,343 crore received as FDI in defence since 2014

For the navy, the council approved acquisition of next generation corvettes at an estimated cost of approx. Rs 36,000 crore.

These next generation corvettes will be versatile platforms for variety of roles such as surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, surface action group operations, search and attack, and coastal defence, the ministry said. The warships would be constructed based on new in-house design of the Indian Navy using latest technology of ship building and would contribute to further the New Delhi’s initiative of SAGAR, or Security and Growth for all in the Region, it added.

The Defence Acquisition Council also approved the manufacture of Dornier Aircrafts and Su-30 MKI aero-engines by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The council is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.