Government Has Cleared Worth Rs 2.5 Lakh Crore Of Mega Defence Projects In The Last Three Years

During the last three years and current year, up to June, 2018, 215 contracts for capital procurement of defence equipment with total value of Rs 2.5 lakh crore have been signed including 135 contracts with Indian vendors involving Rs 1.2 lakh crore and 80 contracts with foreign vendors for value of Rs 1.3 lakh crore.

Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said projects with a cost of Rs 150 Crore and below are within the delegated powers of Services and projects of more than Rs 150 Crore are dealt by the Services and the Ministry of Defence.

Questions were also raised about the reason for the delay in the ongoing projects and the steps taken to expedite and fast track these projects. Addressing the question, he said, “The progress of Capital Acquisition Projects is reviewed regularly at various levels in Ministry of defence to achieve the desired operational preparedness of the Armed Forces and to effectively contribute to ‘Make in India’ program of Government of India.”

Bhamre outlined the various steps taken to expedite and fast track the capital acquisition projects include:

• Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) report to be approved by SHQs, 
•  TEC not to be mandatory for cases valued above Rs 300 crores. 
• Delegation of powers in approval process 
•  Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) validity has been reduced to six months (from one year) for ‘Buy’ cases and to one year (from two years) for ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ cases; 
•  Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) has to accompany Statement of Case (SoC) for AoN; 
•  Cases with AoN value of more than Rs 150 crore to be directly brought before Services Capital Acquisition Plan Categorisation Higher Committee (SCAPCHC) thereby eliminating initial placement of such cases before Services Capital Acquisition Plan Categorisation Committee (SCAPCC) etc.