Published 17:00 IST, July 2nd 2020
In a major boost to IAF, Defence Ministry approves acquisitions worth approx. Rs.38900 Cr.
Defence Acquisition Council under the Chairmanship of Rajnath Singh approved acquisitions of equipment approximately worth Rs.38,900 for the Armed Forces.
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On Thursday, the Defence Acquisition Council under the Chairmanship of Rajnath Singh approved acquisitions of various equipment approximately worth Rs.38,900 crore for the Armed Forces. The Defence Ministry attributed this to the current situation and the need to strengthen the Armed Forces for safeguarding our borders. The approved proposals include acquisitions from the Indian industry of Rs.31,130 crore in line with PM Modi's clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat. The equipment to be manufactured in India will witness the participation of several MSMEs as prime-tier vendors.
In some of these projects, the indigenous content is up to 80% of the cost. The transfer of technology from the Defence Research and Development Organisation to the indigenous industry has made a large number of these projects possible. The DAC also approved the procurement of more fighter jets in wake of the Indian Air Force's requirement to increase its fighter squadrons. While the procurement of MiG-29 jets and upgradation from Russia is estimated to cost Rs.7,418 crore, the Su-30 MKI aircraft will be procured from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at an approximate price of Rs.10,730 crore.
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These are some of the approved proposals:
- Pinaka ammunition- which will enable raising additional regiments
- BMP armament upgrades
- Software-Defined Radios for the Army
- Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile Systems- having a firing range of 1000 km
- 248 Astra Missiles- which have Beyond Visual Range capability
- 21 MiG-29 fighter jets
- Upgradation of existing 59 MiG-29 fighter jets
- 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft
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The defence procurement assumes significance at a juncture when India is grappling with the faceoff with Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control. Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had visited Russia from June 22-24- which was the first foreign visit of an Indian minister after the COVID-19 pandemic. During this visit, Defence Secretary Dr.Ajay Kumar met Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Col. General AV Fomin. In Rajnath Singh's meeting with Russia Deputy PM Yury Borisov, ways to increase defence cooperation were discussed. Speaking to the media in Moscow, the Defence Minister revealed that all Indian proposals had received a positive response from the Russian side.
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17:00 IST, July 2nd 2020