New Delhi:

In a huge boost to local defence manufacturing, the Centre on Tuesday approved 10 capital acquisition proposals amounting to Rs 1,44,716 crore, including for the modernisation of the Indian Army’s tank fleet with a futuristic Main Battle Tank.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 10 capital acquisition proposals amounting to Rs 1,44,716 crore.

Of the total cost, 99 per cent is from indigenous sources under the ‘Buy (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Indian-indigenously designed, developed and manufactured)’ categories, the ministry said in a statement.

The move clears the path for the procurement of future-ready combat vehicles (FRCVs), air defence fire control radars, Dornier-228 aircraft, next-generation fast patrol and offshore patrol vessels.

The FRCV will be a futuristic Main Battle Tank with superior mobility, all-terrain ability, multilayered protections, precision & lethal fires over and real-time situational awareness, the Ministry of Defence said.

The government also approved a proposal for the procurement of air defence fire control radars, which will detect and track aerial targets and provide firing solutions.

“The proposal has also been approved for Forward Repair Team (Tracked) which has suitable cross-country mobility for carrying out in-situ repair during mechanised operations,” the ministry said.

This equipment is designed and developed by Armoured Vehicles Nigam Ltd, and is authorised for both Mechanised Infantry Battalions and Armoured Regiments.

Three AoNs have been accorded to enhance the capabilities of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The ministry said that Dornier-228 aircraft, Next Generation Fast Patrol Vessels having high operational features in rough weather conditions, and Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels with advanced technology and enhanced long-range operations, will enhance the capability of ICG to carry out surveillance, patrolling of the maritime zone, search and rescue and disaster relief operations.

The Defence Minister also honoured late Indian Coast Guard (ICG) DG Rakesh Pal, who was also a member of the DAC and passed away due to a heart attack in Chennai on August 18.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

INDUS-X, which stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership between India and the U.S., was launched on June 21 last year.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“The India-U.S. Defence Acceleration Ecosystem has advanced the commitment of the two strategic partners to building a defence innovation bridge under the Critical and Emerging Technology Initiative,” the U.S. has said on the partnership’s first anniversary.

INDUS-X, which stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership between India and the U.S., was launched on June 21 last year by the U.S. Department of Defence and the Indian Ministry of Defence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, DC.

“In its first year, INDUS-X has advanced both countries’ commitment to build a defence innovation bridge under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET),” the Department of Defence said in a press release on June 21.

The iCET was launched by Prime Minister Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the QUAD summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022.

“INDUS-X has strengthened private sector cooperation between the United States and India by facilitating partnerships among defence technology companies, investors, and researchers,” the press release said.

“The third INDUS-X Summit will take place in Silicon Valley in September 2024 with a focus on harnessing private capital for defence innovation,” it said, citing a recent announcement by the White House.

The summit will be co-hosted by the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and Stanford University. The India-U.S. defence and strategic ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

The two countries have inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and also provides for the sale of high-end technology from the U.S. to India.

In October 2020, India and the U.S. sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) pact to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for the sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.

Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant
| Photo Credit: AFP

Israeli defence exports rose to a record $13.1 billion in 2023, a government report said on June 17, citing hundreds of contracts signed at various defence firms.

Some 36% of exports came from missile, rocket and air defence systems, followed by radar and electronic warfare, weapon stations and launchers at 11% each, with crewed aircraft and avionics at 9%, the Defence Ministry said.

Defence exports, which totalled $12.5 billion in 2022, have doubled over the past five years.

The Ministry said defence exports had become a central priority as part of an effort to strengthen security-strategic relations worldwide, enter new markets, remove bureaucratic barriers and reduce regulation.

“While our industries are primarily focused on providing the defence establishment with the capabilities to support our troops and defend our citizens … they are also continuing to pursue areas of cooperation and exports to international partners,” said Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

New Delhi:

India is in the process of formulating joint military doctrines in sync with its efforts to enhance synergy among the three services and other key wings of the defence establishment to effectively deal with future security challenges, officials said on Monday.

The defence ministry has already been working on an ambitious plan on theaterisation process to ensure jointness among the three services.

Various aspects relating to the joint doctrines were brainstormed at a conference on September 22.

“This historic, first such, conference was aimed to synergise and bridge gaps in understanding between headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) and the three services in the formulation of doctrines, as also review the progress of joint doctrines being formulated,” the defence ministry said.

It also helped in sharing best practices and ongoing initiatives on doctrinal issues, it said in a brief statement on Monday.

The ‘joint doctrine review’ conference was chaired by Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra, the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine Organisation and Training).

The conference spanned over two sessions, brainstorming the joint doctrine formulation process. It reviewed the ongoing as well as future joint and service doctrines on diverse subjects such as cyberspace, amphibious and space.

“The conference was successful and achieved its stated aim,” the ministry said.

It was attended by subject matter experts from the Doctrine Development Agencies of HQ IDS and the three services as also members from reputed think tanks.

Officials said the government has been making forward movement in the theaterisation plan as well.

According to the theaterisation plan, each of the theatre commands will have units of the army, the navy and the air force and all of them will work as a single entity looking after security challenges in a specified geographical territory under an operational commander.

At present, the three services have separate commands.

The theatre commands are being planned to integrate the capabilities of the three services and to ensure optimal utilisation of their resources.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Defence Ministry on Friday cleared procurement of various weapons systems and platforms including Dhruvastra short range air-to-surface missile and 12 Su-30 MKI fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 45,000 crore.

A total of nine procurement proposals were approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, officials said.

“All these procurements will be made from Indian vendors under Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDMM)/Buy (Indian) category which will give substantial boost to the Indian defence Industry towards achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’,” the defence ministry said.

To enhance protection, mobility, attack capability and increase survivability of mechanised forces, the DAC accorded the approval for procurement of Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicles (LAMV) and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System (ISAT-S), the ministry said in a statement.

The DAC cleared also cleared the procurement of High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) Gun Towing Vehicles for swift mobilisation and deployment of artillery guns and radars.

The DAC further approved procurement of next generation survey vessels for the Indian Navy, the ministry said.

It said a proposal of the Indian Air Force to ensure avionic upgrade of Dornier aircraft to improve the accuracy and reliability for operations was also given Acceptance of Necessity (AoN). The AoN is the initial approval.

“The procurement of Dhruvastra Short Range Air-to-Surface Missile as a potent Indigenous Precision Guided Weapon for indigenously built ALH Mk-IV Helicopters has been cleared by the DAC,” the ministry said.

“The AoN for procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI Aircraft with associated equipment from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was also accorded,” it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Union Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday allocated ₹5.94 lakh crore for the Defence Ministry, a 13% increase year-on-year from last year’s budget estimates.

The non-salary revenue outlay has gone up by 44% from ₹62,431 crore the previous year to ₹90,000 crore in the Budget Estimates of 2023-24. The hike is particularly significant given the huge increase in operational commitments, with major force accretion and sustenance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and stocking up of spares and ammunition since the 2020 stand-off with China.

“This will cater to sustenance of weapon systems and platforms, including ships and aircraft, and their logistics; boost fleet serviceability; emergency procurement of critical ammunition and spares; procuring and hiring of niche capabilities to mitigate capability gaps wherever required; progress stocking of military reserves; and strengthening forward defences, amongst others,” the Defence Ministry said.

The Ministry said as a precursor to the hike in the non-salary revenue segment, the government during the mid-term review had enhanced the operational allotment for the current financial year by ₹26,000 crore, which is 42% of the present allocation. This unprecedented increase in the Revised Estimates 2022-23 has ensured liquidation of the entire carry-over liabilities during the current year, thereby ensuring that there is no dent in the next year’s operational outlay of the services, it stated.

“The enhanced allocations in the Budget will also cater to training aids and simulators for Agniveers and ensure that they achieve the set standards of training for induction in the defence forces,” the Ministry added.

Capital expenditure for military modernisation also saw a 6.7% rise by ₹10,230 crore year-on-year to ₹1.62 lakh crore. There was also a major hike in the allocation for defence pensions on account of the revision of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. Allocation for the Defence Research and Development Organisation is ₹23,264 crore, a 9% increase year-on-year.

The overall revised estimates for 2022-23 for defence stood at ₹5.85 lakh crore and this year’s allocation represents a 1.5% increase. Of this year’s defence budget, ₹2.7 lakh crore is for revenue expenditure, ₹1.38 lakh crore for pensions and ₹22,612 crore for defence (civil).

More funds for BRO

The capital budget of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has gone up by 43% to ₹5,000 crore from ₹3,500 crore in 2022-23. “The Ministry of Defence is committed towards infrastructure strengthening in the border areas, particularly the Northern Borders,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. The BRO is close to finishing some key infrastructure projects in the eastern sector and improving all-weather connectivity along the LAC.

Of the ₹1.62 lakh crore set aside for capital expenditure, a 6.7% increase year-on-year, ₹37,242 crore has been earmarked for the Army, ₹52,804 crore for the Navy and ₹57,137 crore for the Indian Air Force (IAF). This represents a year-on-year increase of 16.32% for the Army, 10.96% for the Navy and 2.79% for the IAF. Budget documents show that the Defence Ministry has returned about ₹2,370 crore from the capital component, a major part accounted for by the IAF, which has unspent funds of ₹1,837 crore.

Capex for defence received a nominal 7% increase compared with the 33% rise in the country’s overall capital expenditure commitment, according to Gaurav Mehndiratta, partner and head, Aerospace and Defence, KPMG in India. “We believe the capex allocation misses a commensurate reflection of the government’s impetus on defence manufacturing,” he said.

New beneficiaries

The revised estimates of 2022-23 for pensions shot up by ₹33,719 crore to ₹1,53,415 crore following the Union Cabinet’s approval for the revision of the OROP scheme last December, which was pending since July 2019. The revision will benefit more than 25.13 lakh veterans and family pensioners, including over 4.52 lakh new beneficiaries.

The government has said arrears will be paid in four half-yearly instalments except for beneficiaries in some special categories who will be paid in one instalment. The estimated annual expenditure for the implementation of the revised scheme has been calculated at approximately ₹8,450 crore, including Dearness Relief (DR) at 31%. Arrears from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022 have been calculated at approximately ₹23,638 crore as per the applicable DR, the government said, adding that this expenditure is over and above the ongoing spend on account of OROP.

Agniveer Corpus Fund

In line with the provisions of the Agnipath scheme for recruitment into the armed forces, the Budget has announced the creation of a non-lapsable dedicated Agniveer Corpus Fund. This will cater to the Seva Nidhi severance package to be given to Agniveers on completion of four years. Individuals would have to contribute 30% of their monthly income to the fund during service, which will be equally matched by the government. The government will also pay to the subscriber interest, as approved from time to time, on the contributions in the account and the entire payout will be tax-free.

Defence Budget Estimates (2023-24)

Total allocation: ₹5.93 lakh crore

Revenue allocation: ₹2.7 lakh crore

Capital expenditure: ₹1.62 lakh crore

Pension: ₹1.38 lakh crore

Civil: ₹22,612 crore

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