Army on buying spree, inks Rs 85K cr deals for arms procurement in '24-'25
NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has worked out major procurement deals with an expenditure of Rs 85,000 crore for 2024-2025, with a thrust on self-reliance. '26 capital procurement contracts totalling Rs 85,000 crore have been finalised in the capital budget, with only three sourced from foreign vendors,' an Army source said.
On the utilisation of the budget under the capital head, 'Army utilised Rs 35,000 crore. 95% of this expenditure was allocated to domestic sources, reinforcing the Make-in-India initiative,' source said.
According to planners in the Army, money spent on procurements from the indigenous sources adds to the growth of the economy and employment generation. 'Indian Army's historic Rs 85,000 crore procurement spree marks a decisive push for self-reliance, dramatically transforming India's military capabilities into a future-ready force,' a defence official said.
Army's domestic procurement and indigenous defence production are 'not only strengthening operational preparedness but also acting as a powerful economic stimulus, driving job creation, investment, and industrial growth,' the official said.
The move, as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat, is expanding India's indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem. 'It is expected to stimulate economic growth, boost GDP, and create thousands of skilled jobs,' the official said.
The total allocation towards the defence was Rs 6,21,541 crore for 2024-25. The Union Budget made a provision of Rs 6, 81,210.27 crore for 2025-26 for the defence ministry. The allocation for defence capital expenditure for 2024-25 is Rs 1.72 lakh crore. The capital budget is spent on adding new weapons, systems and equipment.
'In the current geopolitical scenario where the world is witnessing a changing paradigm of modern warfare, Indian armed forces need to be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and have to be transformed into a technologically advanced combat-ready force. Keeping this in view, Rs 1,80,000 crore has been allocated on capital outlay of the defence forces. This allocation is 4.65% higher than the budgetary estimate (BE) of 2024-25,' the MoD said.
Plans to hold Defence Expo in Ranchi
India's next edition of the DefExpo is to be held in Ranchi, Jharkhand, if things go as planned. 'The international 5-day DefExpo is likely to be held in Ranchi, which happens to be the Lok Sabha constituency of Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth,' said a source.
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