Indian Army orders Rs 7,300 cr emergency buy from desi companies to counter China

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Army ordered ₹7,300 crore worth weapon systems from Indian manufacturers, using emergency purchase powers, to counter border threat from China. Contracts worth another ₹7000 crore are in final stages of procurement and are likely to be signed in the coming weeks. A range of equipment was ordered mainly from the private sector.

They include drone and counter drone systems, armaments, simulators, communication systems and vehicles, according to people in the defence establishment. «We have contracted 49 schemes worth ₹7,600 crore and 34 more schemes worth ₹7,000 crore are in final stages of procurement,» one of the defence establishment insiders said, adding that trials and selection process were done by proactively engaging the industry. Among systems acquired are logistic and nano drones, counter-drones, loiter munitions, unarmed aerial vehicle launched precision guided missiles and automatic spectrum monitoring systems.

Last August, the Defence Acquisition Council delegated powers to the forces to procure equipment worth up to ₹300 crore under emergency clause, which scrapped a lengthy procurement process that took years. The forces were authorised to process equipment purchases up to the value of ₹300 crore, as long as they were inducted in a year to meet emergency requirements. Emergency powers were given to the forces twice earlier, in the wake of the Galwan crisis that started in 2020 and in the aftermath of the Balakot air strikes.

However, in a big change from the past, the current emergency powers are reserved only for orders placed to Indian companies. Most orders placed and those in the final stages were bagged by the Indian private sector. Sixty-eight schemes worth ₹6,600 crore were signed in the first three