NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is working towards revised policy procurement visibility documents which would seek to reach out to the industry with a 10 to 15-year outlook on future military requirements, particularly in emerging technology domains such as drones and counter-drone systems, A Anbarasu, Additional Secretary & DG (Acquisition) in MoD, said on Tuesday.
Anbarasu said this during his speech at the launch of Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace, an AI-powered autonomous fighter aircraft, a first in India.
The MoD’s move reflects domestic industry’s long-standing demand for sustained business opportunities for survival, as well as emerging conflicts in futuristic technologies with shorter shelf lives.
The updated Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP), which will lead to a detailed Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap (TPCR), will enable private industry to step up R&D efforts and establish production lines and assemblies to meet tri-services requirements within the desired timeframe.
Outlining a series of reforms to accelerate defence procurement, simplify testing procedures, and strengthen indigenous manufacturing, the DG Acquisition said the government was also working on a revamped quality assurance framework involving government agencies, industry, and third-party agencies to make the process more responsive to the needs of the domestic defence industry.
“From the acquisition side, we are in the process of reducing the timelines, introducing technology readiness levels, accelerating innovation, particularly to solve the issue of value of deals, where successful prototypes languish without orders,” Anbarasu stated.
The Ministry has put in place a mechanism for giving 5 years of issued orders with a ceiling, the DG noted, adding that spiral development will be a key factor in different acquisition procedures.
Providing insight into the roadmap for emerging technologies, particularly drones and counter-drone systems that dominate the battlefield, the DG Acquisition said the Ministry is developing its ten-year Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP).
Through that, the Ministry will unveil the TPCR technology perspective and capability development plan, according to the Additional Secretary. “Last year in August, we came up with a TPCR document. Once ICDP is put in place, it’ll come out with a detailed TPCR document, which we will open up for the industry, which will give a roadmap for the next 10 to 15 years,” he assured.
Apart from the TPCR, the MoD had also officially released the ICDP document in September 2025.
The Ministry has started fast-tracking the acquisition of all emerging tech proposals, the senior officer said, without elaborating on the details.
IIT Kanpur will also establish a centre for drone excellence to serve as a one-stop location for research in that domain.
The DG admitted the government is unhappy with the time-consuming process of doing business. “They are in the process of coming up with drone standardisation software and automation of the acquisition process so as to speed up the decision-making. We are not happy with the speed at which we are doing business, because the world is changing faster, our process systems have to move faster,” he said.
On other policy initiatives, he said a three-layered quality assurance system will be set up. “So, government appointed, industry appointed and third party. So, three levels of quality assurance philosophy we are in the process of bringing in. All these changes cumulatively will usher in a kind of a reform which will be welcomed by all the stakeholders,” he remarked.
The official said the reforms to quality assurance, trials, and acquisition procedures would collectively create a more efficient and predictable environment for industry. A central element of the proposed Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2026 reforms is a shift from the traditional emphasis on domestic manufacturing to ensuring India develops and owns critical technologies.
He also said the MoD plans to enforce industry registration, which will help compile a central repository of defence industry players. This will help with vendor interaction and vendor evaluation for business engagement.
The MoD is also planning an industry registration to maintain a robust list of company registrations and build a central repository. “We are going to come up with vendor interaction and evaluation mechanisms to roll out transparent, quicker and parallel processes so that we complete procurement processes quicker and faster,” he informed the gathering.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
