NEW DELHI, Oct 25 � Defence projects worth a whopping Rs 80,000 crore were today cleared by the government, which decided that six submarines will be made indigenously and over 8,000 Israeli anti-tank guided missiles and 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft will be purchased, reports PTI.
The decisions were taken following a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, that lasted for over two hours with the Defence Secretary, the chiefs of all three services, DRDO chief and other senior officials attending it.
The bulk of the decisions went in favour of the Navy that was in dire need of upgradation and capability enhancement.
The big ticket step was the decision to build six submarines in India at a cost of about Rs 50,000 crore rather than source them from outside.
The other major decision was to purchase 8,356 anti tank guided missiles from Israel worth Rs 3,200 crore, rather than the US� Javelin missile for the Indian Army. The Army will also purchase 321 launchers for the missile.
Another 12 Dornier surveillance aircraft with enhanced sensors will also be bought from the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for Rs 1,850 crore.
The DAC also decided to buy 362 infantry fighting vehicles from the Ordinance Factory Board, Medak in West Bengal for Rs 662 crore.
The submarines will be Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) capable, that will enable them to stay underwater for longer than a conventional submarine, besides having enhanced stealth features.
The Navy currently has 13 operational submarines and the target set in 1999 was to have 24 by 2030. The previous UPA government had gone in for six Scorpene submarines and the first is likely to be delivered only in 2016.
The decision to manufacture the submarines in India is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s �Make in India� pitch.
