Defence Acquisition Council: A young Independent India was dragged into continuous wars by our war-thirsty neighbours, Pakistan and China. This coupled with the myopic vision of earlier Congress regimes created an undesirable dependency on imported weapon systems. Later, Congress’ regimes were inflicted with an inferiority complex. Over the years, they kept vetoing any voice for indigenisation of the defence system by bluntly snubbing it with a hysteria of sub-standardisation.
However, the tide changed after 2014. The newly elected Prime Minister gave a clarion call under the flagship programme ‘Make-in-India’ for defence manufacturing. In just eight years, the Make-in-India defence cub has fully grown into a scary lion that is now giving nightmares to our enemy nations, China and Pakistan.
Enhancing the strength of military arsenal
On 22nd of December, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 24 Capital Acquisition Proposals. After this, the Indian armed forces will be able to acquire defence equipment worth Rs 84,328 crores. The proposals include Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles, Light Tanks, Naval Anti-Ship Missiles and Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels among others.
Approval for 24 Capital Acquisition Proposals, worth Rs 84,328 crore, for the Armed Forces & ICG were given today.
98 percent of the procurement will be from indigenous sources. This will help in modernising the Forces & boost Atmanirbharta in defence. https://t.co/NzzeErAMcf
— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) December 22, 2022
Also Read: Modi@8: The achievements of the Ministry of Defence under PM Modi
The breakdown of these 24 proposals includes six for the Indian Army, six for Indian Air Force, ten for Indian Navy and two for Indian Coast Guard.
It is remarkable to note that around 97.4% proposals have been approved for procurement from indigenous sources. 21 proposals have been marked specifically for indigenous procurement. With it, the Modi government has given a strong impetus to Make-in-India defence as well as empowered the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in the defence sector.
Defence Acquisition Council – A remarkable turnaround
Have you ever faced the fear of failure and given up before even trying to change the unfavourable status-quo? In fact, we all have at some point of time. But can a sovereign nation afford that liberty?
To just intellectualise, India’s long-term import dependence in the defence sector may be credited to the same. But when we look at it analytically and connect some dots, the reason for import dependence seems to be something else. A few examples like The Jeep Scam, Bofors Scam, Adarsh Housing Society Scam and AgustaWestland Scam are enough to make us ponder on that angle.
Also Read: A comprehensive list of weapons India manufactured and procured in the last 24 months
Taking upright decisions, PM Modi has been rapidly changing this unfavourable dependency on defence imports. During the last two years alone, the Modi government has imposed a phase-wise import ban on 411 different weapons and systems. This was done solely with the purpose to boost the indigenous defence manufacturing in the country.
Also Read: IAF’s shopping list looks terrific for Indians and terrifying for India’s foes
With a mix arsenal of indigenous and imported state-of-the-art weapon systems, India has been solidifying our border defence vis-a-vis Pakistan and China. Furthermore, both of our enemy nations depend heavily on substandard as well as non-battle tested weaponry. With indigenisation of defence arsenal, India has the advantage that with technological know-how, the nation can economically mass produce these weapon systems at will in case of emergency. This saves India from the leverage that other countries might have enjoyed in case of emergency procurements.
With strong and robust military industrial corridors and indigenous technology, India is making itself fully prepared for the biggest threat our enemies can pose, that is, a two-front war. Apart from the security threat at borders, growth of India’s defence sector is a scary sign for China and its vassal Pakistan. From a compulsory defence importer, India is now slowly turning into a credible defence exporter in Southeast India and the Middle East.
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