Defence Ministry on Wednesday approved a Rs 13,165 crore proposal to acquire military hardware for the Indian Armed Forces which includes the purchase of 25 India-made ALH Mark III helicopters from public sector giant Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
As much Rs. 11,486 crore or 87% of this procurement will take for domestic sources which will give the government’s Make in India programme a big boost. The India-made helicopters will cost around
Rs.3,850 crore. The Indian Army will get a squadron of Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) to improve its integral lift capability ensuring its operational preparedness, the defence ministry said.
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The proposal was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) which met under Chairmanship of Defence Minister Mantri Rajnath Singh.
“Giving a boost to indigenous design and development of ammunition, DAC also accorded approval for procurement of Terminally Guided Munition and HEPF/RHE Rocket Ammunition under Buy Indian category at an approximate cost of Rs 4,962 crore from domestic sources. Other proposals worth Rs. 4,353 cr. were also accorded approval by the DAC,” the defence ministry statement said.
In addition, the DAC also approved a few amendments to the defence acquisition procedure to ensure further ease of doing business for the industry as well as measures to enhance procurement efficiency and reduce timelines, the statement added.
