MoD clears 118 'improved' Arjun tanks among Rs 17,000 crore worth of procurement proposals

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Tuesday approved buying of defence equipment worth Rs 13,700 crore for the three armed forces, including 118 Arjun Mk-1A tanks for the Army. The DAC also accorded three Acceptance of Necessities (AoNs) for an overall cost of Rs 13,700 crore, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

All these AoNs are in the highest priority category of defence acquisition — 'Buy [Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)].

The DAC, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is the highest decision-making body for defence procurement.