Army to get 25 advanced light helicopters

• Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh approved the purchase of 25 ALH Mk-III helicopters for Army Aviation at a cost of Rs 3,850 crore.
• Apart from this, rocket ammunition worth Rs 4,962 crore has also been approved.
• A total of Rs 13,165 crore proposals have been cleared in the meeting for the modernization and operational needs of the Indian Armed Forces.

Boost to 'Self-reliant India'

• The approvals for helicopters will help give more emphasis to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India'.
• Mark III helicopters will be purchased from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category.

Unique features of Mk-3 Helicopters

• Mk 3 helicopters are used by all three wings of the army.
• It is capable of flying in all weathers.
• It can be used in different missions.
• According to the Navy, this helicopter can be converted from a combat helicopter to an air ambulance within 2 to 3 hours and sent for the mission of saving lives.

Amendments made in Business Process Re-engineering

• The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting has cleared proposals for a total of Rs 13,165 crore for the modernization and operational needs of the Indian Armed Forces.
• Defence minister also approved other proposals worth Rs 4,353 crore for approval of requirement (AON) for capital acquisition proposals.
• Of this, Rs 11,486 crore (87 per cent) is to be procured from domestic sources.
• In addition, DAC has also introduced some changes in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP-2020) as a part of business process re-engineering to ensure more ease of doing business for the industry as well as measures to increase procurement efficiency and reduce timelines.