New Delhi: India on Thursday approved capital acquisition of a plethora of military hardware and platforms worth approximately Rs 1.05 lakh crore that included procurement of 12 mine counter-measure vessels at a cost of over Rs 44,000 crore for the Indian Navy.
The critical procurement projects were cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, weeks after the May 7 to 10 military conflict between India and Pakistan.
The DAC accorded initial approval for 10 capital acquisition proposals amounting to about Rs 1.05 lakh crore through indigenous sourcing, the defence ministry said.
The approval for the procurement of mine counter-measure vessels (MCMVs) comes after at least three failed attempts to procure them in the last 15 years.
Around seven years back, India’s negotiations with a South Korean defence major to procure the MCMVs, popularly known as minesweeper vessels, broke down in view of a variety of issues.
The Indian Navy does not have any MCMV at present. The force has been strongly pitching for acquiring the specialized warships that are crucial for detection, tracking and destroying underwater mines.
Underwater mines are used by adversaries to disrupt maritime trade, choke harbours and ports, and disrupt shipping.
According to the proposal, the MCMVs will be manufactured in India.
The DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) or initial approval procurement of armoured recovery vehicles, electronic warfare system, integrated common inventory management system for the tri-services and surface-to-air missiles.
“These procurements will provide higher mobility, effective air defence, better supply chain management and augment the operational preparedness of the armed forces,” the defence ministry said.
It said approvals were also accorded for procurement of moored mines, super rapid gun mount and submersible autonomous vessels.
“These procurements will enable mitigation of potential risks posed to the naval and merchant vessels,” it said.
“To provide further impetus to indigenous design and development, AoNs were accorded under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously designed developed and manufactured) category,” the ministry said.
