India greenlights ₹52,000 crore defence procurement package

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved a defence purchase programme worth approximately ₹52,000 crore. The package covers new systems for the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, including the Akash Tarang anti‑UAV electronic‑warfare system, man‑portable anti‑tank guided missiles (MPATGM), medium‑range surface‑to‑air missiles (MRSAM), very‑short‑range air‑defence (V‑SHORADS), active protection kits for tanks and jet‑based kamikaze drones.

For the Navy, approvals were given for multi‑influence ground mines (MIGM), a naval ship‑borne unmanned aerial system (NSUAS) and a land‑based testing facility (LBTF) for electric propulsion prototypes. The Air Force will receive fixed‑wing high‑altitude pseudo‑satellites (FW‑HAPS) to boost intelligence, surveillance and communications. The meeting also marked the first DAC session with the newly appointed senior military leadership – CDS General N.S. Rajan Subramanian, Naval Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and Army Chief General Dheeraj Seth – who reiterated modernisation as a top priority. The approvals follow a recent increase in the defence budget, with capital outlay earmarked for a broad range of weapons, platforms and unmanned systems.