An important area of defence procurement is that of procurement of spares and stores. While this area is usually not covered as extensively as compared to big-ticket capital acquisitions, it is a key requirement for armed forces and defence procurement. The 'Green Channel Policy' is an MoD initiative that is being executed DGOA, with the purpose of improving ease of doing business. It is aimed to help achieve the vision of 'Make in India' within the sector of defence manufacturing.

The scheme is designed to cater to companies that manufacture defenceitems that have continuous requirement or mass consumption. These are primarily termed as defence stores and spares. Firms that meet the eligibility criteria may apply for this for permission to obtain 'Green Channel Status'. Upon obtaining the 'Green Channel Status' through the granting of a 'Green Channel Certificate' the supplier gains deemed registration status, waiver of pre-dispatch inspectionand acceptance of stores under the supplier's guarantee/ warranty against the contracts concluded by different agencies under the MoD.

Firms that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be allowed to self-certify products meant for mass consumption of the Indian armed forces. Having said that, there is an exception with regards to 'critical stores' such as those that are meant to serveairborne applications, which are governed by airworthiness certification and quality assurance regulatory requirements. These stores being critical in nature along with more rigorous quality assurance procedures and practices are excluded from the provisions of self-certification.

The applicant firms needto pay a registration fee and deposit an irrevocable bank guarantee with the nodal agency - DGQA.