The Defence Ministry on Friday cleared procurement of various weapons systems and platforms including Dhruvastra short range air-to-surface missile and 12 Su-30 MKI fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 45,000 crore. The 12 Su-30 MKI fighter jets will be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The DAC cleared also cleared the procurement of High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) Gun Towing Vehicles for swift mobilisation and deployment of artillery guns and radars, along with next generation survey vessels for the Indian Navy.
According to press statement released by Ministry of Defence, all equipments will be bought under the 'Buy (Indian-indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM)/Buy (Indian)' category, providing a substantial boost to self-reliance and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
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The Buy (Indian) category refers to the acquisition of weapons and systems that may not have been designed and developed indigenously but have an indigenous content of 60 per cent on the cost basis of the base contract price. “Rather than a threshold of 50% indigenous content for IDDM projects, we should aim for a minimum 60-65% indigenous content,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
The Indian government has taken several steps in the past to develop indigenous advanced technologies. This includes two Defence Industrial Corridors that have been set up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace-related items. India has also announced four lists over the past few years that placed bans on over 400 different types of weapons and military hardware that is expected to be indigenised during the next five to six years.
