85% of acquisition by Army indigenous in nature: Chief General Dwivedi

Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday announced that a whopping 85 per cent of the army's acquisitions are now indigenous, marking a significant milestone in the country's journey towards self-reliance in defense production.

Speaking on the growing emphasis on self-reliance, he stated, "85 per cent of the acquisition by the Indian Army is indigenous in nature. Since we have a lot of revenue & capital requirements, starting from UAV, counter-UAV, and aviation we are looking at it in a big way as of now."

The Indian Army is also looking to upgrade its existing equipment and platforms, and General Dwivedi emphasised the importance of collaboration with the Indian industry to achieve this goal.

"We are also looking at ATGMs and MANPATS. These are the issues we are looking at immediately. As far as the upgradation of various equipment and platforms are concerned, we are looking for great support from the Indian industry..," he said.

One notable success story is the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), which has clocked an impressive 40,000 hours of flying time over the past two years, with only one minor issue reported.

General Dwivedi reiterated that self-reliance remains the army's top priority, and all future acquisitions will be made with a "Made in India" focus.

"As far as ALH is concerned, in the last two years we have flown 40,000 hours. Apart from one, we have no major problem at all...Now, whatever we are looking at has to be made in India as self-reliance will always remain our main priority...," he said.

With Aero India 2025 setting the stage for advancements in aviation, India continues to strengthen its position as a global leader in aerospace technology, reflecting the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

In Union Budget 2025-26, a provision of Rs 6,81,210.27 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047' with technologically advanced and 'Aatmanirbhar' Armed Forces.

This allocation marks a 9.53 per cent increase over the Budgetary Estimate of FY 2024-25 and accounts for 13.45 per cent of the total Union Budget, making it the highest among all Ministries.

This significant increase underscores the Government's commitment to strengthening national security and defense capabilities.

In a bid to bolster self-reliance and strengthen domestic industries, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has continued its focus on capital procurement from Indian sources.

Since FY 2020-21, a significant portion of the modernisation budget has been earmarked for procurement from domestic industries, with an increased emphasis on encouraging private sector participation in defense manufacturing and technological development.

For FY 2025-26, the Government has allocated Rs 1,11,544.83 crore, which constitutes 75 per cent of the modernisation budget, for procurement through domestic sources. Furthermore, Rs 27,886.21 crore, or 25 per cent of the domestic share, has been specifically earmarked for procurement from domestic private industries.