Positive Indigenisation Lists

Fifth Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) of Department of Military Affairs (DMA) comprising 98 items was released by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh during the plenary session of ‘Swavlamban 2.0’. The list includes Highly complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition have been included in the list. All these items will be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Atmanirbharta in Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 in staggered timeline. The DMA had earlier promulgated four PILs comprising 411 military items. Separately, the Department of Defence Production (DDP) has notified four PILs consisting of a total of 4,666 items, including Line Replacement Units/Sub-systems/Spares & Components for DPSUs. The fourth PIL of 928 items was released by DDP in 2023.

Record Defence Production

The value of defence production in Financial Year (FY) 2022-23 crossed the figure of Rs one lakh crore for the first time ever. It was Rs 95,000 crore in FY 2021-22. The Government is continuously working with defence industries and their associations to remove the challenges faced by them and promote defence production in the country. A number of policy reforms have been taken to achieve the objective of ease of doing business, including the integration of MSMEs and start-ups into the supply chain. Due to these policies, the industries, including MSMEs and start-ups, are forthcoming in defence design, development & manufacturing and there is almost a 200% increase in the number of defence licenses issued to the industries in the last 7-8 years by the Government.

Record Defence Exports

Through consistent policy initiatives of the Government and tremendous contribution of the defence industry, defence exports reached an all-time high of approx. Rs 16,000 crore in FY 2022-23, almost Rs 3,000 crore more than the previous financial year. It a rise of over 10 times since 2016-17. India is now exporting to over 85 countries. Indian industry has shown its capability of design and development to the world, with 100 firms exporting defence products at present. Major platforms being exported include Dornier-228, 155 mm Advanced Towed Artillery Guns, Brahmos Missiles, Akash Missile System, Radars, Simulators, Mine Protected Vehicles, Armoured Vehicles, PINAKA Rockets & Launchers, Ammunitions, Thermal Imagers, Body Armours, besides Systems, Line Replaceable Units and Parts & components of Avionics and Small Arms. There is growing global demand of LCA-Tejas, Light Combat Helicopters, Aircraft Carrier, MRO activities etc.

Separate Budget for Domestic Industry

Record 75 per cent (approx. Rs one lakh crore) of the defence capital procurement budget was earmarked for domestic industry in FY 2023-24, up from 68 per cent in 2022-23. This was announced by the Raksha Mantri during 14th Aero India in Bengaluru. In FY 2023-24, Ministry of Defence was allocated a total Budget of Rs 5.94 lakh crore, which is 13.18 per cent of the total budget (Rs 45.03 lakh crore). Capital outlay pertaining to modernisation and infrastructure development was increased to Rs 1.63 lakh crore.

HAL Helicopter Factory

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Helicopter Factory was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Tumakuru in Karnataka. The factory is India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs). The LUH is an indigenously designed and developed three-ton class, single engine multipurpose utility helicopter with unique features of high manoeuvrability. Initially, the factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year and can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner.

ALSO READ:Safran and HAL to form joint venture company for helicopter engines

LCA Tejas

HAL handed over the first twin-seater Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ to the IAF in the presence of Rakha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in Bengaluru. It is a light weight, all weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft, designed to support the training requirements of the IAF and augment itself to the role of a fighter in case of necessity. It is an amalgamation of contemporary concepts and technologies such as relaxed static-stability, quadraplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvring, advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems and advanced composite materials for the airframe. The IAF placed an order for 83 LCAs with HAL.

C-295 Transport Aircraft

First C-295 MW transport aircraft was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in the presence of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh. The aircraft are being inducted through a collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus Defence and Space S.A., Spain. Fifteen more aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition and they are scheduled to be received till August 2025. Remaining forty will be manufactured at the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility, the foundation stone of which was laid by the Prime Minister in Vadodara, Gujarat in October 2022. The first Made in India aircraft is expected from September 2026. This medium lift tactical aircraft, which is capable of taking off and landing from unprepared landing grounds, will replace the HS-748 Avro aircraft.

The post DEFENCE REVIEW 2023 – Atmanirbharta in Defence appeared first on IMR.

He exuded confidence that the Defence PSUs would play a major role in achieving this goal with a contribution of 70-80 per cent.

The minister exhorted the Non-Official Directors (NODs) of DPSUs to ensure smooth implementation of various initiatives taken by the government towards achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta in Defence’.

He was addressing the CMDs and NODs of DPSUs during the first-of-its-kind workshop organised by the Department of Defence Production in New Delhi.

Rajnath asserted that the country was witnessing a transitional phase towards self-reliance and active and collective efforts were central to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

He listed various initiatives taken by the MoD to achieve self-reliance, including simplification of the acquisition process of defence equipment/platforms under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020; flexibility in Offset guidelines; increase in FDI limit to 74 per cent under Automatic Route and up to 100 per cent under the government route; simplification of the process of obtaining a license; launch of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative and enhanced use of Artificial Intelligence in the defence sector.

Rajnath described NODs as a bridge between DPSUs and the MoD, which not only strengthened corporate governance in public sector companies but also ensured that the work was carried out as per the policies of the government.

The post MoD sets target of Rs 1.75 crores of defence production by 2025 appeared first on IMR.

The TDF scheme supports indigenous development of components, products, systems and technologies by MSMEs and start-ups. It is executed by the Defense Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).

The Centre under the Union Budget 2022-23 allocated 25% of defence R&D budget to private business, startups, and academics. The enhanced funding is in line with the budget announcement and it will give further boost the vision of ‘Aatmanirbharta in defence’, the Defence Ministry said in a release.

The main goal of the TDF Program is to provide the defence manufacturing industry a huge boost by pushing the industry to innovate and develop defence technology in order to put India on the path to self-reliance.

The programme provides funding for up to 90% of the project’s total cost, allowing industry to collaborate with another industry.

The industry and startups will be able to create more complex technologies for existing and future weapon systems and platforms thanks to increased investment. The TDF programme has approved 56 projects to date.

The post Funding Under Technology Development Fund Enhanced appeared first on IMR.

In a statement 0n 6 June, the Ministry of Defence said the DAC, at 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 under ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ categories”. This, it said, follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “clarion call for ‘Aatmanirbharta’.”

The planned next generation corvettes will be the first time that the warships will be designed entirely by the Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design and executed by an Indian shipyard through a competitive bid — this means that the private industry will also be allowed to bid, unlike earlier when a shipyard was nominated. The new warships will eventually replace the Khukri and Kora class corvettes.

“For the Indian Navy, the DAC accorded AoN for procurement of Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) at an estimated cost of approx. Rs 36,000 crore. 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 ship building and would contribute to further the Government’s initiative of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region),” the Ministry said.

“For the Indian Army, 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,” it said.

“The DAC accorded AoNs for manufacture of Dornier aircraft and Su-30 MKI aero-engines by the Navratna CPSE M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with focus on enhancing indigenisation, particularly in indigenising aero-engine material,” the Ministry said.

“In pursuance of the Government’s vision for digital transformation in Defence, ‘Digital Coast Guard’ project under ‘Buy (Indian)’ Category has been approved by the DAC. Under this project, a pan India secure network for digitising of various surface and aviation operations, logistics, finance and HR processes in Coast Guard will be established,” it said.

The post Corvettes, Su-30 engines—Rs 76,390-crore procurement boost to Indian industry appeared first on IMR.

In a major push towards ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence sector, the defence ministry accorded in-principle approval to fund four projects by Indian industry. It includes design and development of light tank for the Indian Army and airborne stand-off jammer for the Indian Air Force. The industry will be provided financial support for prototype development of these projects.

Defence ministry has offered these four projects (one for army and three for IAF) to the Indian Industry for design and development under Make-I category of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.

This is for the first time since the launch of industry-friendly DAP-2020 that Indian industry has been involved in development of big ticket platforms such as Light tank and Communication Equipment with Indian security protocols.

Three  projects for Indian Air were accorded ‘Approval In-Principle (AIP)’ by Collegiate Committee of MoD including communication equipment with Indian security protocols (routers, switches, encryptors, VoIP phones and their software) and Airborne Electro Optical pod with Ground Based System.

“The indigenous development of these projects in the country will help harness the design capabilities of Indian defence industry and position India as a design leader in these technologies,” said defence ministry.

In the defence budget, 70 per cent funds have been kept for domestic procurement in 2022-23. Underlying the importance of Make-in-India in defence sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told Indian industry that surprise element during war can only be attained if customized and unique weapons are developed in one’s own country.

The post Government to fund four Indian defence projects appeared first on IMR.