DAC accords in-principle approval to Project 18A next-generation stealth destroyers
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has recently cleared Project 18A, the Navy's next-generation stealth guided-missile destroyers, in principle. A senior Defence Ministry official put the cost at about ₹80,000 crore, with nearly 75% indigenous content. Deliveries should start five to 10 years after the contract is signed.
Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS3 · Indian Achievements in S&T; GS3 · Security Forces & Agencies
Why this matters for UPSC
GS3 security: defence procurement and indigenisation of technology. Prelims can ask who grants an Acceptance of Necessity under DAP 2020; Mains, indigenous warship building.
Why it matters
For a sailor on a destroyer near retirement, the decision means a replacement hull is on the way, though not soon: ships come years after a contract is signed. For Indian shipyards and their suppliers, a large share of the work could stay at home, because the ships are planned around Indian design and Indian-made parts. That spreads orders to public and private yards and the small firms that feed them. The wider issue is sea control in the Indian Ocean. If old ships leave service faster than new ones join, the Navy has fewer frontline ships to watch rival submarines and guard trade routes, so the timing of each step now matters.
Prelims pointers
- Under DAP 2020, a Statement of Case seeking an AoN is prepared by the Service Headquarters and approved within the Service before review by other wings.
- Under DAP 2020, the Defence Procurement Board grants an AoN for cases above ₹300 crore and up to ₹500 crore; above ₹500 crore, the DAC grants it.
- DAP 2020 links any proposal to induct warships to the Maritime Capability Perspective Plan, which sets the number and type of vessels needed.
- Under DAP 2020, Buy and Make (Indian) counts its 50% minimum indigenous content on the Make portion; Buy (Indian) needs 60% without indigenous design.
- Project 15B gave four Visakhapatnam-class destroyers, built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai; it followed Project 15A, the Kolkata class.
- The Visakhapatnam class was designed by the Directorate of Naval Design, the Navy's in-house design organisation, per a 2021 PIB release.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, consider the following statements:
1. The Statement of Case seeking an AoN is prepared by the Department of Defence Production.
2. The Defence Procurement Board grants an AoN for cases above ₹300 crore and up to ₹500 crore.
3. The Defence Acquisition Council grants an AoN for cases above ₹500 crore.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only. The thresholds are right; the author of the Statement of Case is wrong.
Statement 1: incorrect. Under DAP 2020 the Service Headquarters drafts the Statement of Case; the Department of Defence Production only receives a copy for comment.
Statement 2: correct. DAP 2020 lets the Defence Procurement Board accord AoN for cases above ₹300 crore and up to ₹500 crore.
Statement 3: correct. Above ₹500 crore the DPB recommends a category and refers the case to the DAC, which accords the AoN.
Eliminate: statement 1 names the wrong drafter, so every option with 1 goes. Out: (a), (c), (d).
Trap: Swapped attribution. The Department of Defence Production does take part in the process, so pinning the Statement of Case on it sounds right.
Remember: The Service drafts the case; the DPB clears up to ₹500 crore; the DAC clears anything larger.
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