🗞️ Why in News The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on 7 September 2026 accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to capital acquisition proposals worth about ₹1,10,000 crore, with roughly 98 per cent of the value to be sourced from domestic industry under Atmanirbhar Bharat. The clearances span the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and cover platforms ranging from CBRN reconnaissance vehicles to shipborne radars and multi-purpose jammers.
What Was Cleared, Service by Service
The Acceptance of Necessity is the first in-principle approval in Indian defence procurement. It authorises the Service Headquarters to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) and begin the acquisition case; it does not by itself commit a contract. All the items below sit at that AoN stage.
Indian Army
| Platform | Role |
|---|---|
| CBRN Recce Vehicles | Reconnaissance in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contaminated environments |
| High Mobility Vehicles (HMVs) | Tactical mobility for infantry, artillery and combat support |
| Self-Propelled Mechanical Mine Layers | Rapid emplacement of anti-tank minefields, especially in a mechanised battle |
| Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) | HAL-built utility helicopter for observation, casualty evacuation, logistics |
| Trawl Tanks | Mine-clearing tanks fitted with plough or roller assemblies to breach minefields |
| Sarvatra Bridge System | DRDO-VRDE multi-span modular bridge for rivers and gaps up to 75 m |
Indian Navy
| Platform | Role |
|---|---|
| Arudhra radars | Medium-power surveillance radars for shipborne and coastal air defence |
| Marine Gas Turbines | Propulsion for future warships, reducing dependence on imported turbines |
Indian Air Force
| Platform | Role |
|---|---|
| Ground-Based Multi-Purpose Jammers | Electronic warfare against enemy communications, radars and drones |
| Other multi-platform capabilities | Force-multiplier upgrades across combat platforms |
The 98 per cent domestic share is the notable number. It is among the highest indigenisation ratios recorded in a single DAC clearance cycle, and is the direct downstream consequence of the five Positive Indigenisation Lists issued since August 2020.
The Defence Acquisition Council: What It Is, and Where It Sits
The DAC is the apex decision-making body on capital acquisitions for the Indian armed forces. It was established in 2001 on the recommendation of the Group of Ministers on National Security set up after the Kargil Review Committee (K. Subrahmanyam) report of 2000.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chair | Union Defence Minister |
| Members | Ministers of State for Defence; three Service Chiefs; Chief of Defence Staff; Defence Secretary; Secretary (Defence Production); Secretary (Defence R&D)/Chairman DRDO; Finance Adviser (Defence Services); Director General (Acquisition); others as required |
| Secretariat | Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence |
| Instrument | Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP-2020) |
The DAC works through the Defence Procurement Board, the Defence Production Board and the Defence Research and Development Board. Its ordering of preference under DAP-2020 prioritises acquisitions in this sequence: Buy (Indian - IDDM), Buy (Indian), Buy and Make (Indian), Buy and Make, and finally Buy (Global - Manufacture in India) and Buy (Global).
IDDM is the top category and stands for Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured. Its centrality is what allows a clearance cycle to be described as “98 per cent domestic”.
The Indigenisation Architecture: Five Lists, One Portal, One Fund
Since August 2020, the Ministry of Defence has issued five Positive Indigenisation Lists (PILs) for services and four PILs for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), notifying items that must be procured only from Indian sources beyond specified embargo dates.
The wider architecture around this includes:
| Instrument | Function |
|---|---|
| SRIJAN portal | Ministry of Defence dashboard listing components and sub-systems available for indigenisation by Indian industry |
| iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) | Programme launched 2018 to fund defence start-ups and MSMEs; managed by the Defence Innovation Organisation |
| iDEX-PRIME | High-value technology development track under iDEX |
| Defence Industrial Corridors | Uttar Pradesh (2018) and Tamil Nadu (2018), anchoring the industrial base |
| Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) | Sets up shared testing facilities for private-sector defence R&D |
| Technology Development Fund (TDF) | DRDO-managed fund for MSMEs and start-ups |
The private-sector share of defence production and the value of exports are the two headline indicators these instruments are designed to move.
Defence Exports: The Trend Line
India’s defence exports rose from ₹1,940 crore in FY 2014-15 to a record ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26, a rise of about 62.66 per cent over the ₹23,622 crore of FY 2024-25. Exports reach more than 80 countries, spanning platforms such as Dornier Do-228 aircraft, BrahMos cruise missiles, artillery guns, Pinaka rockets, radars and Akash surface-to-air missiles. The Government has articulated a target of ₹50,000 crore of defence exports by 2029.
The demand signal that a ₹1.10 lakh crore, 98-per-cent-domestic AoN cycle sends into industry is precisely the kind of long-order visibility that lets private firms invest in capacity, R&D and workforce for the export market as well.
What AoN Actually Means
A recurring public misunderstanding is worth flagging. Acceptance of Necessity is stage one of a multi-stage acquisition process:
- AoN by DAC.
- Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by Service Headquarters.
- Technical evaluation, field evaluation trials, staff evaluation.
- Contract Negotiation Committee, Cost Negotiation Committee.
- Approval by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for high-value deals.
- Contract signing.
Delivery follows over a further multi-year window. The headline ₹1.10 lakh crore, therefore, is the notional value of proposals cleared into the pipeline, not immediate orders. This does not diminish the significance of the clearance, but it distinguishes an in-principle commitment from a signed order-book.
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 3. Various security forces and agencies and their mandate; defence sector; indigenisation of technology and developing new technology; role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
The Mains framing. The one-line reading treats a DAC clearance as a procurement notice. The Mains judgment reads it as a demand signal in an industrial policy. The Positive Indigenisation Lists set the supply-side rule that the armed forces must buy Indian; the DAC’s willingness to clear ₹1.10 lakh crore at a 98-per-cent domestic share is the demand-side commitment that validates that rule. The joint effect is a structured import substitution in a sector where import dependence was politically and strategically costly. The counter-question a good answer must also address is capacity: whether Indian industry can absorb and deliver a pipeline of this scale without slipping on quality, schedule and cost.
A question worth preparing. “Discuss the role of the Defence Acquisition Council and the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 in operationalising Atmanirbhar Bharat in the defence sector. To what extent has the Positive Indigenisation List regime altered the procurement mix? (250 words)”
The GS3 counterpoint to hold. Indigenisation by percentage of value is not the same as indigenisation by critical components. A platform can be 98 per cent Indian by cost while remaining critically dependent on imported engines, seekers, night-vision, semiconductors or specialty alloys. The tests that matter are the Buy (Indian - IDDM) share, the share of foreign-origin critical sub-systems in nominally domestic platforms, and the defence-manufacturing R&D-to-turnover ratio. Announcements should be judged on those, not on the AoN cover value.
📌 Facts Corner — Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- The Defence Acquisition Council on 7 September 2026 accorded AoN to capital acquisitions worth about ₹1,10,000 crore, with roughly 98 per cent to be sourced domestically.
- The DAC is chaired by the Union Defence Minister; Rajnath Singh chaired the 7 September 2026 meeting.
- Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) is the first in-principle approval in Indian defence procurement; RFP issuance follows AoN.
- Army items cleared include CBRN Recce Vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles, Self-Propelled Mechanical Mine Layers, Advanced Light Helicopters, Trawl Tanks and the Sarvatra Bridge System.
- Navy items include Arudhra medium-power surveillance radars and Marine Gas Turbines.
- IAF items include Ground-Based Multi-Purpose Jammers.
- The DAC was established in 2001 on the recommendation of the Group of Ministers report that followed the Kargil Review Committee.
- The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 governs capital acquisitions; the top category is Buy (Indian - IDDM), where IDDM means Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured.
- Since August 2020, the MoD has issued five Positive Indigenisation Lists for services and four PILs for Defence PSUs.
- India’s defence exports reached a record ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26, up about 62.66 per cent on FY 2024-25, and go to more than 80 countries; the target is ₹50,000 crore by 2029.
Prelims, the traps:
- The DAC is chaired by the Defence Minister; it is not chaired by the Chief of Defence Staff or the Prime Minister.
- AoN is the first in-principle approval; the contract stage requires Cabinet Committee on Security clearance for high-value deals.
- iDEX was launched in 2018 and is managed by the Defence Innovation Organisation; it is not a DRDO scheme.
- The Sarvatra Bridge is a DRDO-VRDE product designed for multi-span rapid deployment, distinct from the Bailey Bridge.
- The two Defence Industrial Corridors are in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, notified in 2018; not in Maharashtra or Karnataka.
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Structured import substitution: Positive Indigenisation Lists (supply-side rule) and DAC clearances (demand-side commitment) as two sides of one policy.
- Buy (Indian - IDDM) as the operational meaning of Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence procurement.
- Absorptive capacity of Indian defence industry: quality, schedule slippage, cost overruns as risks to indigenisation targets.
- Critical sub-systems dependence: engines, seekers, night-vision optics, specialty alloys as continuing chokepoints.
- Defence exports as a strategic tool: end-user relationships in South-East Asia, Africa and the Gulf.
Interview, be ready for:
- Walk through the acquisition stages from AoN to contract; where are the delays typically concentrated?
- What has been the effect of the Positive Indigenisation Lists on the DPSU and private-sector split of defence orders?
- Does 98 per cent domestic sourcing by value equal 98 per cent by critical-component content?
- How does the DAP-2020 sit alongside the Kelkar and Rama Rao committee legacies?
Sources: PIB, The Hindu, Business Standard
Source: DAC Clears ₹1.10 Lakh Crore Capital Acquisitions, 98 Per Cent Domestic — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
