By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, June 07:
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisition Proposals of the Armed Forces amounting to Rs 76,390 crore on Monday.
The proposals call under ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ categories and will provide a substantial boost to the Indian Defence Industry and will significantly reduce foreign spending. The initiative is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-dependence), Defence Ministry statement said.
The DAC accorded fresh AoNs for procurement of Rough Terrain Fork Lift Trucks (RTFLTs), Bridge Laying Tanks (BLTs), Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (Wh AFVs) with Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs), and Weapon Locating Radars (WLRs) through domestic sources with emphasis on indigenous design and development, for the Indian Army.
Besides, the DAC accorded AoN for procurement of Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) at an estimated cost of approx. Rs 36,000 crore for the Indian Navy. These NGCs will be versatile platforms for a variety of roles viz. surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, Surface Action Group (SAG) operations, Search & Attack, and Coastal Defence. These NGCs would be constructed based on the new in-house design of the Indian Navy using the latest technology of shipbuilding and would contribute to further the Government’s initiative of SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region),
The DAC accorded AoNs for the manufacture of Dornier Aircrafts and Su-30 MKI aero-engines by the Navratna CPSE M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with a focus on enhancing indigenization, particularly in indigenizing aero-engine material.
In pursuance of the Government’s vision for digital transformation in Defence, the ‘Digital Coast Guard’ project under the ‘Buy (Indian) Category was also approved by the DAC. Under this project, a pan India secure network for digitizing various surface and aviation operations, logistics, finance, and HR processes in Coast Guard will be established.
Air commodore
In another development Air commodore, Vivek Singh Blouria took over the command of the air force station, Kanheri Hills in Thane near Mumbai on Monday. He succeeds air commodore Rakshale Sanjeev Kumar. Air commodore Vivek Singh Blouria, is an alumnus of the National Defence College, New Delhi, and has vast operational experience in various fields of the Indian Air Force.
