DAC meeting cut short

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had to be cut short midway as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had to urgently leave for Goa.
Defence sources said the meeting would be carried on in the early part of next week.
One of the major deal that was to be discussed was the Navy's over Rs 15,000 crore proposal for 100 plus naval utility helicopters under "Buy and Make" category for which top Indian firms like TATA, Reliance Group, Mahindra and others would be vying for.
Another important proposal was IAF's requirement for Russian-made 48 new Mi17 choppers. The deal will be for over Rs 6,000 crore.

The DAC, set up in 2001 as part of the post-Kargil reforms in defence sector, approves the long-term integrated perspective plan for the forces, accords acceptance of necessity (AON) to begin acquisition proposals, and has to grant its approval to all major deals through all their important phases.
It also has the power to approve any deviations in an acquisition, and recommends all big purchases for approval of the Cabinet committee on security.