Army Concluded 118 Contracts Worth Rs 16,000 Crore Over 12 To 15 Months Using Fast-track Procurement Procedure: Army Chief

The Indian Army has concluded 118 procurement contracts worth Rs 16,000 crore over the last 12 to 15 months using the fast-track procedure and emergency powers delegated to it, Army Chief General M M Naravane said in a conversation with journalist Nitin Gokhale at Bharat Shakti's annual event 'India Defence Concave' earlier this week.

"Over the last year, powers were delegated to the services to carry out certain fast-track procurements under the provisions which exist in the Defence acquisition procedure or the DAP... We were able to conclude 118 contracts, worth more than Rs 16,000 crore, in a period of just 12 to 15 months, with delivery periods of one year from the signing of the contracts," the Chief of Army Staff told the gathering.

"Such a large volume has never been done in a year, year and a half period," Army Chief General Naravane said at the event.

The Army Chief also revealed that a large share of these contracts has been awarded to the Indian defence industry.

"A majority of this, more than 55 per cent of this, is for indigenous contracts and indigenous content. More than 50 per cent of that has gone to MSMEs [Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises] (sic)," the Army Chief said.

"This has enthused our local industry, especially the MSMEs, who know that they also have a chance, even against bigger and more established players, to make an inroad into the defence industry. This has definitely been a game changer. If that can become the normal way of functioning, that would be to our advantage as far as speeding up our capability development is concerned," General Naravane added.

Amid tensions along the Line of Actual Control, the government had delegated powers to the three services last year to carry out fast-track procurements to meet emergency operational requirements.

"The DAC [Defence Acquisition Council] delegated the powers for progressing urgent capital acquisition cases up to Rs 300 crore to the Armed Forces to meet their emergent operational requirements. This will shrink the procurement timelines and ensure placement of orders within six months and commencement of deliveries within one year," the Ministry of Defence said on 15 July 2020, a month after the clashes in Galwan.

"Considering the security environment due to prevailing situation along the Northern Borders and the need to strengthen the Armed Forces for the defence of our borders, a special meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council was convened on 15 July 2020," the Ministry had said back then.