Defence Ministry clears Rs 40,000 crore submarines for Navy, 5,000 anti-tank missiles for Army

In a major development, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday approved Rs 40,000 crore worth proposal to build six bigger submarines for the Navy and 5,000 anti-tank Milan 2T missiles for the Army.

According to a Defence Ministry spokesperson, the decision is a part of Project 75 India. The submarines building project would be executed under the Central government's strategic partnership policy under which Indian companies would tie up with their foreign partners to build the boats in India.

"The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by the Defence minister approved Rs 40,0000 crore Navy proposal for the six submarines along with the Army's proposal to acquire 5,000 Milan 2T anti-tank guided missiles," said the Defence Ministry spokesperson said.

The DAC meeting also approved the proposal to amend the defence procurement procedure to make it more industry-friendly and increase the ease of doing business in the defence sector.

The submarines are critical for the Navy which is looking to increase their under-water fleet for further effectively patrolling the territorial waters.

The French-origin anti-tank guided missiles for the Army would help in bridging the gap in the requirement of the Force which is short of almost 70,000 of these missiles.

For its future requirements, the Indian Army is likely to go in for the man portable anti-tank guided missiles being developed by the DRDO.