Why in the news?

  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled a new framework for streamlining revenue procurement process for the armed forces.

Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025

  • What is it?
    • It is a guideline/document of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), India, that lays down rules, procedures, and norms for revenue procurement in the defence sector.
    • e.g. procurement of spares, ammunition, consumables, vehicles, fuel for existing equipment, etc.
  • Key Features:
    • Ease of Doing Business: To reduce bureaucratic delays and to increase participation of private industry.
      • Removal of redundant approvals.
      • Timely payments.
      • Transparent, competitive bidding processes.
    • Industry-Friendly Provisions: To encourage private sector R&D, build confidence among manufacturers, promote indigenisation.
      • Assured orders to industry for up to 5 years (and extension by +5 years in special cases).
      • Government to provide technical handholding, equipment sharing for prototype development.
    • Relaxed Penalties during development: Allows innovation without fear of punitive costs.
    • Boost to Self-Reliance: Part of Atmanirbhar Bharat / Make in India, to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and strengthen the domestic defence industrial base.
  • Significance:
    • Faster procurement cycles: Streamlining approvals and removing redundancies helps reduce delays. Under modern warfare, delay is costly.
    • Transparency and predictability: With more consistent norms (aligned with the Finance Ministry), better bidding, better payment timelines- likely to reduce corruption, cost overruns.
    • Greater private sector participation: Removing DPSU NOC, giving assured orders, technical support— these push open up the defence procurement ecosystem. Should help smaller / medium enterprises.
    • Encourages innovation: With relaxed penalties and support for prototyping, industry is more likely to invest in R&D, perhaps take higher risks.
    • Boost to indigenization: Helps fulfill goals of strategic autonomy. Also potentially good for employment, technology spillovers.
  • Challenges:
    • Monitoring and oversight: Even with simplification, procurement is complex- misuse risk needs mitigation.
    • Risk of quality compromise: when easing penalties, ensuring that specification, performance, safety etc do not suffer.
    • Implementation Concerns: Such as adhesion to timelines.