Union Defence Ministry clears new blacklisting policy to do away with blanket bans on companies caught in kickbacks cases; it also approved projects worth 82,000 crore rupees for purchase of fighter aircraft, tanks, rockets and mini drones; bulk of purchases will be made at home. Contrary to expectation, the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, did not take a decision on the Navy's
proposal to purchase 12 US2I amphibious aircraft from Japan, though the issue came up for discussion. However, it is expected that there would be some forward movement on this issue during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Tokyo on November 11-12.
The DAC also gave Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to Indian Air Force's plan to purchase 83 Tejas Mark 1A aircraft at a cost of Rs 50,025 crore, Defence Ministry sources said.
It also accorded AON for the purchase of 15 Light Combat Aircraft being manufactured by HAL for the Army and Air Force for a tentative cost of about Rs 2,911 crore.
AoN was also given for the repeat order of 464 Russian origin T90 tanks which are being manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board for Rs 13,448 crore, besides for procurement of 598 mini UAVs at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore.
However, the most significant take away from the DAC is the clearance of the new blacklisting policy.
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