Why in the news?

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Defence Minister, approved a series of capital acquisition proposals worth around 79,000 crore aimed at strengthening the operational capabilities of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

• What is it?: It is the highest decision-making body in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on matters related to the procurement of weapons, platforms, and systems for the Indian Armed Forces.
• Formation: It was established in 2001 following the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) set up after the Kargil War (1999) to streamline defence planning and procurement.
• Composition:
  • Chairperson: Defence Minister of India
  • Members:
    • Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)
    • Chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force
    • Defence Secretary
    • Secretary (Defence Production)
    • Secretary (Defence Research & Development)
    • Financial Adviser (Defence Services)
• Function:
  • Policy Formulation: Final approval authority for capital acquisitions in the defence sector.
  • Prioritization: Approves the Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) and Annual Acquisition Plan (AAP) of the Armed Forces.
  • Acceptance of Necessity (AoN): Grants AoN — the first step in any defence procurement, signifying official recognition of need.
  • Categorization of Procurement: Decides the mode of acquisition
  • Make in India Promotion: Encourages indigenization and self-reliance through initiatives like IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed & Manufactured) category.
  • Monitoring: Reviews progress of major acquisition projects and accords financial sanction where required.