Defence Acquisition Council approves RFP for six submarines
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in its meeting held under the Chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh on 4 June2021, has approved proposals concerning Capital Acquisitions of various equipment for modernisation and operational needs of the armed forces amounting to approx. Rs 6,000 crore.
In addition, the DAC also approved issue of RFP for construction of six Conventional Submarines under Project P 75(I) under the Strategic Partnership (SP) Model. This project envisages indigenous construction of six conventional submarines equipped with the state-of-the-art Air Independent Propulsion system at an estimated cost of Rs 43,000 crore.
This is a landmark approval, being the first case processed under the Strategic Partnership model. This would be one of the largest ‘Make in India’ projects and will serve to facilitate faster and more significant absorption of technology and create a tiered industrial ecosystem for submarine construction in India. From a strategic perspective, this will help reduce current dependence on imports and gradually ensure greater self-reliance and dependability of supplies from indigenous sources.