VidBodh AcademyThe art and science of civil services preparation
Student login

Science and Technology › Defence technology

Defence indigenisation and exports

How India buys arms and makes them at home: the acquisition council and its procedures, lists that reserve items for Indian industry, defence industrial corridors, exports and foreign investment. It serves GS3 answers on the indigenisation of technology.

Showing 1 of 2 subjects, those that changed from 1 to 15 September 2026.Show all

Defence Acquisition Council

Copy link to Defence Acquisition Council

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.

What changed

  1. 7 Sep 2026

    PIB, 7 Sep 2026: DAC clears capital acquisition proposals worth about Rs 1.10 lakh crore for the defence forces (opens in a new tab)

  2. 3 Jul 2026Update

    • The Council gave Acceptance of Necessity to proposals worth about ₹52,000 crore.
    • They include the Akash Tarang electronic warfare system against drones, a Very Short Range Air Defence System, an active protection system for tanks, jet powered kamikaze drones, and a fixed wing High Altitude Pseudo Satellite, a solar powered aircraft that loiters in the stratosphere and does a satellite's work at lower cost.

    PIB, 3 Jul 2026: DAC approves capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 52,000 crore to enhance combat readiness of Defence Forces (opens in a new tab)