Defence indigenisation and exports

Prelims and Mains

A private firm will not spend on developing a part unless it knows the order is waiting, and a Positive Indigenisation List is that assurance written down. The sixth one was notified in August.

• The Department of Defence Production notified the sixth list, of 405 items.
• The 405 are line replaceable units, sub-systems, spares and components rather than whole platforms.
• They fit platforms such as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the Su-30MKI, T-90 tanks and the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM).
• SRIJAN, the defence indigenisation portal, has listed over 33,000 items since 2020, of which over 15,700 are indigenised.
• In the same month the Defence Minister approved transferring the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) technologies for all conventional missile systems to Indian industry.

Background reading: PIB, 25 Aug 2026: DRDO missile technology transfer and sixth Positive Indigenisation List (opens in a new tab)

Prelims and Mains

Before the armed forces can buy anything large, a council chaired by the Defence Minister has to agree that they need it. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is where a capital purchase is first approved, and what it grants is a decision rather than a payment.

• Its clearance is the grant of Acceptance of Necessity, which is a decision to buy and not yet money committed.
• In September it cleared proposals worth about ₹1.10 lakh crore, about 98 per cent of it from Indian industry.
• The Army's list runs to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance vehicles, the Sarvatra Bridge System and Advanced Light Helicopters.
• The Navy's includes Arudhra radars and marine gas turbines for warship propulsion, to be developed at home.
• The Air Force's includes a ground based multi-purpose jammer against adversaries' radars.