Defence Ministry Releases 5th Indigenisation List Of 346 Items

In a move to boost Aatmanirbharta in defence and minimise defence imports, the Department of Defence Production (DDP) under the Ministry of Defence has notified the fifth positive indigenisation list (PIL) consisting of 346 items.

The list includes strategically important line replacement units, sub-systems, assemblies, sub-assemblies, spares and components and raw materials, with import substitution value worth Rs 1,048 crore.

The items will only be procured from the Indian companies after the timelines of indigenisation as indicated in the list available on the Srijan portal.

The Ministry of Defence launched the Srijan portal in 2020. On this portal, DPSUs and Service Headquarters (SHQs) offer defence items to industries, including MSMEs and start-ups, for indigenisation.

The DPSUs will undertake indigenisation of the items mentioned in the fifth PIL through several routes including the ‘Make’ procedure or in-house development involving the industry, including MSMEs. This will provide impetus to the growth of the economy, enhance investment in defence and lead to reduced import dependence. In addition, this will augment the design capabilities of the domestic defence Industry due to the involvement of academia and research institutions.

Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Electronics, Bharat Dynamics, BEML, India Optel, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and others are the DPSUs which are involved in defence items of the fifth PIL.

The companies have also initiated the process for issuing expressions of interest/requests for proposals. It is believed that the MSMEs and start-ups may come forward to participate in large numbers.

Earlier, four PILs comprising 4,666 items were notified by the DDP for DPSUs, of which 2,972, having import substitution value worth Rs 3,400 crore have already been indigenised. These five lists for DPSUs are in addition to the five positive indigenisation lists of 509 items notified by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA). These lists include highly complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition.

Till June 2024, over 36,000 defence items were offered to the industry for indigenisation by the DPSUs and SHQs. Of them, more than 12,300 items have been indigenised in the last three years. As a result, the DPSUs have placed orders on domestic vendors to the tune of Rs 7,572 crore.