NEW DELHI: In keeping with changing times, the govt has proposed a new ‘Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2026’ that aims to align India’s defense acquisition with the rapidly evolving geo-strategic landscape, growth of Indian economy, the skilling of human capital, growth of private defense industry in the country and technological imperatives of modern warfare. DAP is the official policy framework governing the procurement of military weapons, systems and platforms for India’s armed forces.The proposed DAP-2026 seeks to ensure categorization and procurement strategy based on technological availability and manufacturing readiness, and to accelerate the acquisition process, the government said on Tuesday. It will also propel jointness, atmanirbharta and integration, force modernization and speed of acquisition with the scaling of production, leading to growth and development of the defense ecosystem in the country.The draft DAP-2026 document has been uploaded on the website of the defense ministry. It has sought comments or suggestions from various stakeholders. Once approved, it will replace the Defense Acquisition Procedure-2020 in force now.DAP, the cornerstone of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative in defence, focuses on institutionalised preference for ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ (indigenously designed, developed and manufactured) category for procurement, thereby boosting domestic manufacturing and effectively reducing imports.The proposed draft will ensure exclusive procedures for faster acquisition of equipment with a short technological cycle, spiral designing & procurement of major platforms, exploitation of modern technology before bulk procurement, pragmatic indigenous content and indigenous design content evaluation, and utilization of indigenous military material.The new DAP also proposes to ease financial and experience criteria for inclusive participation, delegation of decision-making for quicker acquisition, the revamping of trials and quality assurance processes, aggressive infusion of digitization and automation in acquisition procedures and processes.
