The Ministry of Defence has released the draft Defence Acquisition Procedure DAP-2026 and invited comments from stakeholders, outlining a revamped capital procurement framework aimed at force modernisation, indigenous capability and faster acquisition.
Prepared by the Department of Defence, the draft seeks to propel jointness, Atmanirbharta and integration while scaling up production to support the growth of the defence ecosystem in the country.
It aims to align acquisition processes with the evolving geo-strategic landscape, economic growth, human capital development, expansion of the private defence industry and the technological imperatives of modern warfare.
Once approved, DAP-2026 will replace the Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 currently in force.
The proposed framework continues to prioritise the Buy (Indian-IDDM) Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured category for procurement to boost domestic manufacturing and effectively reduce imports.
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The proposed draft provides for categorisation and procurement strategies based on technological availability and manufacturing readiness. It introduces exclusive procedures for faster acquisition of equipment with short technological cycles, spiral designing and procurement of major platforms, early exploitation of modern technology before bulk procurement, pragmatic evaluation of Indigenous Content and Indigenous Design, and utilisation of indigenous military material.
It also proposes easing financial and experience criteria for inclusive participation, delegating decision-making for quicker acquisition, revamping trials and quality assurance processes, and aggressively infusing digitisation and automation into acquisition procedures.
The policy focuses on indigenous design, retention of intellectual property rights and incentives for innovation, while restricting imports to equipment that is critical or not available domestically.
The draft DAP-2026, along with the Handbook on Guidelines and Annexures, has been hosted on the Ministry’s website.
Stakeholders can submit comments or suggestions via email in PDF or MS Word format within three weeks, with the deadline set for 3 March 2026.
While the Defence Procurement Manual 2025 deals with maintenance and sustenance of defence equipment under the revenue head of expenditure, the Defence Acquisition Procedure governs capital procurement of equipment, platforms and systems under the capital head.
According to the release, DAP-2026 intends to weave the security of the nation and technological growth in a single thread and create the canvas for Viksit Bharat-2047.
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