NEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Wednesday paved the way for the procurement of 83 indigenous Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets for IAF from defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd at a cost of over Rs 37,000 crore by finalising the contractual and other issues.With the Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) chaired by defence Rajnath Singh clearing the proposal, it will now be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for the final nod. “This procurement will be a major boost for 'Make in India' as the aircraft is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with participation of several local vendors apart from HAL,” said an official.TOI had last month reported that this biggest-ever deal in the indigenous military aviation sector had been finalized, with the overall cost of acquiring the 83 single-engine Tejas fighters and their support package being slashed down to the price approved now from the earlier around Rs 56,500 crore being demanded by HAL after protracted negotiations.The DAC on Wednesday also accorded approval for acquisition of other indigenous defence equipment for about Rs 1,300 crore, which included aerial fuses and twin-dome simulators for the British-origin Hawk advanced training jets.But the main takeaway was the 83 Tejas Mark-1A jets, the deliveries of which will begin three years after the contract is inked, as per HAL. The IAF’s “Flying Daggers” squadron at Sulur has till now inducted only 16 of the original 40 Tejas Mark-1 fighters, which were all slated for delivery by December 2016 under two contracts worth Rs 8,802 crore inked earlier.The 83 Tejas Mark-1A fighters are slated to have 43 “improvements” over the Mark-1 jets to improve maintainability, AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar to replace existing mechanically-steered radar, air-to-air refuelling, long-range BVR (beyond visual range) missiles and advanced electronic warfare to jam enemy radars and missiles.Sources say the flight testing for the Tejas Mark-1A should hopefully be completed by 2022. After these 123 fighters, the IAF is also looking to induct 170 Tejas Mark-2 or the MWF (medium weight fighter) jets with more powerful engines and advanced avionics.But the Tejas Mark-2 and the indigenous stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft called the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) will take several years to fructify. For now, IAF is banking upon the first 123 Tejas to add to the strength of its fighter squadrons, which is down to just 30 (each has 18 jets) when at least 42 are required for the requisite deterrence against Pakistan and China.The first four Rafale fighters will of course touch down at the Ambala airbase in May this year, with the rest 32 following in batches by April 2022 under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked with France in September 2016. But the slow production rate of the home-grown Tejas fighters by HAL, much like its protracted development saga, remains a major concern for IAF.It was in November 2016 that the DAC had first approved the procurement of the 83 Tejas Mark-1A jets at a cost of Rs 49,797 crore. But HAL had responded with a quote of around Rs 56,500 crore, which had led to the protracted cost negotiations.