The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Wednesday cleared the procurement of 83 indigenously manufactured light combat aircraft Tejas's advanced version, the Defence Ministry said, a move that will help in shoring up IAF's depleting fleet.
The 83 Mk1A aircraft are in addition to the 40 Tejas aircraft whose orders have already been placed with the defence public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
The DAC's meeting was the first after the separation of duties between Department of Defence (DoD) and Department of Military Affairs (DMA) headed by Gen Bipin Rawat, the chief of defence staff.
The ministry said the indigenously developed LCA is going to be the "backbone" of the Indian Air Force.
"While order of 40 Tejas aircraft had been placed with HAL in initial configurations, DAC paved the way for procurement of 83 of the more advanced Mk1A version of the aircraft from HAL by finalising the contractual and other issues," the ministry said in a statement.
The proposal will now be placed for consideration of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
The ministry has already begun the process to acquire a fleet of 110 more fighter jets.
This procurement will be a major boost to 'Make in India' as the aircraft is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with participation of several local vendors apart from HAL, the ministry said.
The DAC also accorded approval for acquisition of indigenous defence equipment for about Rs 1,300 crore. The proposals were for procurement of aerial fuses and twin-dome simulators for Hawk Mk32 aircraft for the IAF.
The DAC also approved an amendment to the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 to enable review by a costing committee of bids submitted by joint ventures of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) from whom procurement of defence items is undertaken on a nomination basis.
This will bring about more transparency in costs and compress the timelines for negotiation of the contract, the ministry added.
