Latest news with #DefenceAcquisitionProcedure
India Gazette
a day ago
- Business
- India Gazette
India must boost production capacity for military-grade drones: Defence Secretary
New Delhi [India], June 20 (ANI): Highlighting the role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in modern warfare, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has said that India must boost its production capacity for military-grade drones. He noted that the Centre wants to cut the defence procurement cycle to a maximum of two years and the government will come up with a new Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP 2025) in six months. 'I would say that India has a significant manufacturing ecosystem for drones, but a lot of it is really for civilian drones. Military-grade drones, not so much. There are, I would say, three to four, five manufacturers who have some capacity in that area. It's something we'll have to build up quickly,' Singh told ANI in an interview. 'And to the extent that, like all military purchases, it's a monopsony. The government is the only buyer. And I guess the government will have to use its buying power to provide the resources and give visibility in terms of orders to that sort of small ecosystem, which hopefully will gradually become a large ecosystem of military-grade drone manufacturers,' he added. He said that military-grade drone production in the country needs some transfer of technology, as a lot of the technology may not be available domestically. 'I would say that we are looking at least three to four manufacturers who are coming up with this type of capacity in terms of military grade drones. We will encourage them through orders and through tenders so that they can start investing in this area even more, including tying up with a lot of the technologies from outside,' he said. 'The volume that we can generate in terms of the size of the orders that can be bigger than the combined turnover of all the other civilian drone manufacturers in the country. That type of ensuring that they have a full order book if they make investments for inter-military grade drones, we will try to ensure by speeding up procurement and by giving them visibility in terms of orders,' he added. The Defence Secretary said he would like to see a situation where the maximum time taken for any procurement, even the most complex ones, should not exceed about two years. 'Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 is a very bulky book. It's a bible for the defence industry. We need to make it simpler. A lot of redundant steps can be avoided. A lot of things can be done concurrently rather than sequentially. And a lot of simplification in terms of the kind of companies that can bid, where we've put in some unnecessary conditionalities, all those have to be removed,' he said. 'So, for that, we have a committee now working. The target date is six months from today. So you'll have a new DAP. It will be DAP-25 rather than DAP-20,' he added. (ANI)
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
India must boost production capacity for military-grade drones: Defence Secretary
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Highlighting the role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in modern warfare Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has said that India must boost its production capacity for military-grade drones. He noted that the Centre wants to cut the defence procurement cycle to a maximum of two years and the government will come up with a new Defence Acquisition Procedure DAP 2025) in six months."I would say that India has a significant manufacturing ecosystem for drones, but a lot of it is really for civilian drones. Military-grade drones, not so much. There are, I would say, three to four, five manufacturers who have some capacity in that area. It's something we'll have to build up quickly," Singh told in an interview."And to the extent that, like all military purchases, it's a monopsony. The government is the only buyer. And I guess the government will have to use its buying power to provide the resources and give visibility in terms of orders to that sort of small ecosystem, which hopefully will gradually become a large ecosystem of military-grade drone manufacturers," he said that military-grade drone production in the country needs some transfer of technology, as a lot of the technology may not be available domestically."I would say that we are looking at least three to four manufacturers who are coming up with this type of capacity in terms of military grade drones. We will encourage them through orders and through tenders so that they can start investing in this area even more, including tying up with a lot of the technologies from outside," he said."The volume that we can generate in terms of the size of the orders that can be bigger than the combined turnover of all the other civilian drone manufacturers in the country. That type of ensuring that they have a full order book if they make investments for inter-military grade drones, we will try to ensure by speeding up procurement and by giving them visibility in terms of orders," he Defence Secretary said he would like to see a situation where the maximum time taken for any procurement, even the most complex ones, should not exceed about two years."Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 is a very bulky book. It's a bible for the defence industry. We need to make it simpler. A lot of redundant steps can be avoided. A lot of things can be done concurrently rather than sequentially. And a lot of simplification in terms of the kind of companies that can bid, where we've put in some unnecessary conditionalities, all those have to be removed," he said."So, for that, we have a committee now working. The target date is six months from today. So you'll have a new DAP. It will be DAP-25 rather than DAP-20," he added.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
MoD review of Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020
NEW DELHI: The Defence Ministry has initiated a comprehensive review of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 to align it with existing policies and initiatives of the government. The ministry on Thursday said that a committee headed by the Director General (Acquisition) has been constituted to carry out extensive deliberations with all stakeholders. Dipti Mohil Chawla is Additional Secretary and DG (Acquisition). 'The ministry has also appointed former IAS officer Apurva Chandra (1980 batch), who has previously served as DG (Acquisition), as the Principal Advisor to the committee,' a statement said. The panel has already begun consultations and invited suggestions from stakeholders by July 5. The aim of the review is to meet the 'operational requirements and modernisation of the armed forces' in a timely manner to ensure national security, according to the defence ministry.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Defence ministry sets up panel to review acquisition procedure
The defence ministry on Thursday said it has set up a high-powered committee, headed by the director general (acquisition), to steer a comprehensive review of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 for speedy modernisation of the armed forces and boosting self-reliance in the critical sector. The panel includes senior officers from the ministry, representatives from the defence industry and academia. 'Following the declaration of 2025 as the 'year of reforms', the defence ministry has initiated a comprehensive review of the DAP 2020 to align it with existing government policies and initiatives. A committee headed by the director general (acquisition) has been constituted to carry out extensive deliberations with all stakeholders,' the defence ministry said. The panel has begun consultations with the stakeholders and invited suggestions from them by July 5. The aim of the review, the ministry said, is to meet the operational requirements and modernisation needs of the armed forces in a timely manner to ensure national security and achieve 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) goals by promoting technology infusion through indigenously designed and developed systems. It also seeks to boost the Make-in-India initiative by promoting defence manufacturing through facilitation of joint ventures and transfer of technology for the private sector, encouraging foreign original equipment manufacturers to invest in the country and establish India as a global defence manufacturing and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) hub, the ministry said in a statement. Another goal is to 'promote design and development in both public and private sectors, with a focus on startups, innovators, and the private defence industry for indigenous technology infusion'. The panel was formed weeks after India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the Pahalgam terror strike in which 26 people were shot dead. It triggered a four-day military confrontation with Pakistan before the two sides reached an understanding on stopping all military action on May 10. Indian forces deployed several indigenous weapons during the clash. The panel has sought suggestions from stakeholders on a raft of issues including policy/procedural changes to streamline the acquisition processes, ease of doing business, conduct of trials, post-contract management, fast-track procedures, adoption of new technologies including artificial intelligence, and language improvements to eliminate ambiguity and enhance procedural clarity in the DAP. On May 30, defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said DAP 2020, the document that spells out the complex procurement process, is being revisited to reflect current realities. He said the government is taking steps to shorten the weapon procurement cycle and has already cut it by more than a year -- a move aimed at accelerating the modernisation of the armed forces. 'The defence ministry has already, in the year of reforms, slashed the timelines for some of the processes in the procurement cycle. This would save about 69 weeks overall in the process timeline,' he said at a defence conclave. There is a need to shift away from the traditional nomination-based procurement focused mostly on the public sector to a more competitive pricing model where both the public and private sector can compete for orders, he said, adding this approach is already being implemented for shipbuilding and recently for the AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) project. The defence ministry has declared 2025 as the year of reforms aimed at transforming the military into a technologically advanced, combat-ready force capable of tackling new challenges. The nine areas identified by the defence ministry for focused intervention include simplifying weapons buying procedures, setting up of integrated theatre commands for the best use of the military's resources to fight future wars, and new domains such as cyber and space. On May 29, the chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh put the spotlight on the armed forces' agonising wait for new weapons and systems, saying he could not recall a single instance of a project being executed on time, in what was seen as a wake-up call for the country's defence production sector. 'Timelines are a big issue,' Singh said at the time.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Defence Ministry begins review of manual for big-ticket purchases
Five years after publishing the detailed manual for defence capital procurements, the Ministry of Defence has initiated a comprehensive review of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. The move comes at a time the government has upped big-ticket military procurements, prioritising those made indigenously. It is aimed at easing and streamlining big-ticket defence procurements while aligning it with existing central government policies and initiatives. The DAP governs all capital procurements, while the Delegation of Financial Powers to Defence Services (DFPDS-2021) is the manual that governs all revenue procurements, including smaller equipment, ammunition, spares and other items for overhauls, refits and maintenance of defence platforms. A committee headed by the Director General (Acquisition) has been constituted to conduct extensive deliberations with all stakeholders, the Defence Ministry said Thursday. Sources said the requirement for further clarification of certain sections in the DAP was put forth by the services and the industry. It will comprise senior officers from the Defence Ministry, representatives from the defence industry and academia. Former bureaucrat Apurva Chandra, who had earlier served as DG (Acquisition), was appointed as the Principal Advisor to the panel. The ministry said the panel has begun consultations and has invited suggestions from stakeholders by July 5. The suggestions were sought on policy/procedural changes to streamline acquisition processes, covering categorisation, ease of doing business, conduct of trials, post-contract management, fast-track procedures, and adoption of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. Suggestions have also been sought on language improvements to eliminate ambiguity, remove inconsistencies, and enhance procedural clarity in the DAP and other relevant issues. The ministry said the DAP review is aimed at streamlining existing capital procurement rules to meet the operational requirements and modernisation of the Armed Forces in a time-bound manner. It will also look at aligning acquisition procedures with central government policies and initiatives to achieve self-reliance in defence by promoting technology infusion through indigenously designed and developed systems. The review seeks to enable 'Make in India' by promoting defence manufacturing in India through facilitation of joint ventures and Transfer of Technology for the private sector, encouraging foreign OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) via FDI alignment, and establishing India as a global defence manufacturing and MRO hub. It is also aimed at promoting design and development in both public and private sectors, with a focus on startups, innovators, and the private defence industry for indigenous technology infusion.
