“The DAC approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crores,” said a senior official. The official said the DAC also granted approval to a few other procurement proposals amounting to approximately Rs 24,879 crore which included approval for acquisition of 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364 crores.

In a major decision, the Defence Ministry had approved the procurement of 111 new utility helicopters worth Rs.21000 crore for the Indian Navy. The decision came on Saturday at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the strategic partnership model to replace the Navy’s redundant fleet of French-designed Chetak choppers. The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.The advanced guns will be indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Centre has also approved the acquisition of 14 vertically launched short range missile systems. Out of 14 missile systems, 10 will be indigenously developed. "These short range missile systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles," the ministry said.