Defence Acquisition Procedure
Also called: DAP, DAP 2020 · Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) is the Ministry of Defence's rulebook for buying military equipment, such as warships. The current version is DAP 2020. The ministry issues it as a policy document, so it is not an Act of Parliament. One of its main jobs is to push "Make in India" in defence. It does this by setting rules for Indigenous Content (IC), the share of a contract's money spent on Indian work and Indian goods. IC is counted against the Base Contract Price, which is the full contract price minus taxes and duties. A November 2023 amendment set a minimum of 50% IC. That 50% must come from material, components and software made in India. Maintenance-contract costs (AMC/CMC) do not count towards it.
Example
The anti-submarine shallow water craft 'Amini' was built by GRSE, Kolkata, and delivered to the Navy in November 2026. It is reported to have over 80% Indigenous Content. Under DAP rules, this means more than 80% of its cost went to Indian work and goods. It does not mean 80% of its parts are Indian.
Don't confuse with
- Indigenous Content figure vs real self-reliance: a high IC share measures money spent. A ship can score high on IC because of costly hull and steel work, yet still depend on imports for a few critical high-tech systems.