The Defence Acquisition Council cleared capital acquisition proposals worth about Rs 1.10 lakh crore on Monday, according Acceptance of Necessity to a wide slate of Army, Navy and Air Force programmes at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The council's approval is an in principle administrative clearance that opens the procurement cycle rather than closing it.

Roughly 98 percent of the cleared procurements are set to be sourced from Indian industry, defence sources said, continuing a run of AoNs weighted heavily toward domestic manufacturers under the wider Aatmanirbhar Bharat push in defence acquisition.

What the Rs 1.10 lakh crore DAC clearance covers for the Army

The Army list runs six items. Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Recce Vehicles lead it, meant to detect, identify, monitor and mark areas contaminated with CBRN agents.

High Mobility Vehicles follow, aimed at logistic support and mobility across difficult terrain, and Self-Propelled Mechanical Mine Layers were cleared for fast, responsive minelaying in ground that does not favour slower methods. Advanced Light Helicopters round out the list, intended for complex missions across all terrains for both the Army and the Air Force.

Trawl Tanks and the Sarvatra Bridge System complete the Army slate, meant to give fighting formations composite crossings during operations in varied terrain.

Arudhra Radars and Marine Gas Turbines for the Navy

For the Indian Navy, the council accorded AoN for Arudhra Radars, which will replace the existing Air Route Surveillance Radars currently in service at various naval air stations around the country.

Design and development work on Marine Gas Turbines was also cleared, along with their subsequent procurement.

The gas turbines are a warship propulsion system, and reducing dependency on foreign vendors for that class of equipment has been a standing goal inside the Indian Navy for years, one that this AoN moves from ambition to a formal design track.

War fighting upgrades for the Air Force

The Air Force list covers fighters, transports and helicopters, without naming individual platforms.

Jamming and secure access

Two items stand out. A Ground Based Multi Purpose Jammer, cleared to provide effective jamming against adversary radars, and a Defence Forces Secure Access Card system.

The card system will replace paper based identity cards and permits with an interoperable RFID based smart card setup.

A run of AoNs anchored in indigenisation

The 98 percent domestic sourcing share puts this round among the more heavily indigenised in recent memory. It follows a Rs 52,000 crore round of AoNs the council cleared in July, when MRSAM, V-SHORADS and the newly named AKASH TARANG anti UAV system were the headline items.

The council has now cleared well over Rs 1.6 lakh crore in proposals since July.

The official release from the Ministry of Defence did not break the Rs 1.10 lakh crore figure down by service, leaving the individual shares undisclosed at this stage.