India Approves Rs 2.12 Lakh Crore Defense Procurement Package

The Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for military procurement proposals totaling Rs 2.12 lakh crore on October 26. Chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the council approved the package to modernize the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, with approximately 82 percent of the equipment expected to be sourced from domestic industry.

A significant portion of the funding includes a Rs 20,000 crore proposal to acquire 200 light multirole helicopters. These aircraft will replace a vintage fleet of roughly 400 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters scheduled for retirement. The helicopters are critical for reconnaissance and surveillance operations in frontier regions such as Siachen and Arunachal Pradesh. This procurement follows two decades of unsuccessful attempts to replace the fleet, including a failed 2014 selection of the Russian Ka-226.

Other approved acquisitions for the Army include high-mobility vehicles, self-propelled tracked gun systems, kamikaze drones, and very short-range air defence systems. The Navy will procure an active off-board decoy system to counter anti-ship missiles and other indigenously designed naval platforms. The Air Force's approvals cover special utility helicopters, air defence systems, and mobile X-band Doppler weather radar systems. These in-principle approvals represent the first step in the procurement process and do not constitute final contract awards.