Defence Ministry cleared 111 military projects worth Rs 1.78 lakh crore under Make in India

New Delhi: In the last three years, the Defence Ministry cleared 111 military projects worth over Rs 1.78 lakh crore for producing military hardware under the Make in India in the defence sector.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre informed the Lok Sabha, "In the last three financial years from 2015-16 to 2017-18, the government has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to 111 proposals, worth Rs 1,78,900 crore approximately, under `Buy (Indian-IDDM)`, `Buy (Indian)`, `Buy and Make (Indian)` or `Make` categories of capital procurement as per Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), which means Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued only to Indian Vendors."

Furthermore, he stated, "In the same timeframe, 99 contracts worth about Rs 65,471.28 crore have been signed with Indian vendors for the procurement of defence equipment. DPP stipulates a time schedule for completion of the procurement cycle."

Make in India in defence has been one of the key programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Several projects such as helicopters, fighter aircraft, and submarines are planned to be manufactured under this in the coming years.

On a separate query on the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas project, the Minister said that that out of the 16 Initial Operational Clearance planes, 10 have been delivered to the Air Force till now.

"Till date, out of 16 IOC fighter aircraft, 10 fighters have been delivered by HAL and are operational with IAF`s 45 Squadron. The delivery of remaining 6 IOC fighter aircraft is planned by March 2019," the minister added.

Bhamre said that the four trainer aircraft to be supplied to the 45 squadrons of Air Force would be taken up after design clearance from the Aeronautical Development Agency.