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To promote 100 percent made-in-India defence inventory, the MoD (ministry of defence) made some big-ticket announcements on Wednesday the 4th of October 2023 including that of newest edition of Positive Indigenisation List.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made this important announcement during the plenary session of ‘Swavlamban 2.0’, the two-day seminar of Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO), which commenced in New Delhi.

The main highlight was the release of the fifth Positive Indigenisation List of Department of Military Affairs (DMA) comprising 98 items.

Highly complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition have been included in the list. All these items will be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 in staggered timeline.

Rajnath Singh also launched 76 challenges for the industry under 10th Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC 10) & DISC 10 PRIME of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and five problem statements under iDEX for Fauji.

In addition, two INDUS X challenges under ‘INDUS-X Mutual Promotion of Advanced Collaborative Technologies’ (IMPACT) challenges jointly finalised by iDEX and United States Department of Defense (US DoD) were launched by the Raksha Mantri.

He also released the Indian Navy’s updated Indigenisation Roadmap ‘Swavlamban 2.0’. A special interactive session for the industry to explain the nuances of the roadmap is planned on Day 2 of the seminar.

Fifth Positive Indigenisation List

The Fifth Positive Indigenisation List has been prepared by DMA after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders.

It lays special focus on import substitution of components of major systems besides important platforms, weapon system & sensors and munitions which are being developed and likely to translate into firm orders in the next five to ten years.

Prominent items include Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle, Articulated All-Terrain Vehicles, Remotely Piloted Air Borne Vehicles upto 25 Km with 2Kg Payload for Army, Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial System, Medium Upgrade Low Endurance Class Tactical Drone, Electric Light Vehicle for Army, Medium Range Precision Kill System for Artillery, Next Generation Low Level Light Radar for Army, Automatic Chemical Agent Detection & Alarm System, Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) Protection and Counter Measures System, Integrated Mobile Camouflage System, AI Based Satellite Image Analysis, Test Equipment for Guided Weapon System for Tank T- 90 S/SK, Quantum Key Distribution System for Optic Fiber based Networks (Upto 200 Km range), Very High Frequency Radar, Electro Optic Fire Control System for Naval Platforms, Armour Plates for Cabin Nose Section for Mi-17 Helicopter, Automated Mobile Test System for OSA-AK-M Missile System; Multifunction Aviation Ground Equipment for Air Force, Gravity Rollers for Mi-17 V5 Helicopter and flares of P-8I and MiG 29-K Aircraft.

The items in the list will provide ample visibility and opportunity to the domestic industry to understand the trend and futuristic needs of the Armed Forces and create requisite R&D and manufacturing capacity within the country.

The MoD has taken numerous steps for self-reliance in the defence sector and Positive Indigenisation Lists is one of the most important transformative reforms in pursuit of indigenisation.

It is one of the key constituents of the Government’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ to transform the defence sector to achieve self-reliance and boost exports with the active participation of public and private sector. The DMA had earlier promulgated four Positive Indigenisation Lists comprising 411 military items.

Separately, the DDP has notified four Positive Indigenisation Lists consisting of a total of 4,666 items, including Line Replacement Units/Sub-systems/Spares & Components for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

INDUS X Challenges

iDEX in partnership with the US DoD had recently conducted the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X) event in Washington DC to expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the start-up ecosystems, businesses and academic institutes of India and US. In a short span of three months, iDEX and US DoD have finalised two joint INDUS X challenges under the IMPACT which were launched by the Defence Minister during the seminar.

US Ambassador to India Mr Eric Garcetti was also present at the launch.