NEW DELHI, Sept 28 - The Defence Ministry on Monday approved the procurement of arms and military equipment worth Rs 2,290 crore including around 72,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles from the United States, officials said.
The procurement proposals were approved at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the Defence Ministry�s highest decision-making body on procurement.
Besides clearing the proposal to buy the rifles, the other notable acquisitions approved by the DAC include procurement of smart anti- airfield weapon (SAAW) systems for the Navy and the Indian Air Force at an approximate cost of Rs 970 crore, the officials said.
�The DAC headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accorded approval for various arms and equipment worth Rs 2,290 crore,� the Defence Ministry said.
The cost of procurement of the Sig Sauer assault rifles for the frontline troops of the Indian Army will be Rs 780 crore, officials said.
They said the DAC also accorded approval for procurement of Static HF Tans-receiver sets under the buy Indian category at a cost of Rs 540 crore. The HF radio sets will enable seamless communication for the field units of the Army and the Air Force.
The military equipment are being procured at a time Indian Army is locked in a bitter border row with China in eastern Ladakh.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled on Monday a new Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) that features steps to turn India into a global manufacturing hub of military platforms, reduce timelines for procurement of defence equipment and allow purchase of essential items by the three services through capital budget under a simplified mechanism.
Under the new policy, the offset guidelines have also been revised to give preference to defence majors offering to manufacture products in India instead of meeting the offset obligations through other means, officials said.
The DAP also incorporates new chapters on information and communication technologies, post-contract management, acquisition of systems developed by the state-run defence entities like the DRDO and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), they said. � PTI
