Examine how successive DAC clearances reflect India's shift from import dependence to self-reliance in critical defence technologies such as naval propulsion and radar systems.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Raksha Mantri, accords Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) — the first stage of capital procurement. Its recent clearances, overwhelmingly routed to Indian industry, mark a decisive move from buying platforms abroad to designing and building them at home, though the transition remains incomplete.

Evidence of the shift in scale and category

• The September 2026 DAC meeting cleared proposals worth about Rs 1.10 lakh crore, with nearly 98% earmarked for Indian industry [1].
• Successive meetings show a sustained indigenous pipeline — Rs 1.05 lakh crore (July 2025) approved entirely under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category [2], followed by clearances of Rs 2.38 lakh crore (March 2026) and Rs 1.10 lakh crore [1].
• Preference ordering under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 — IDDM above Buy (Indian) and Buy (Global–Manufacture in India) — institutionalises this bias rather than leaving it to discretion.

Critical technologies: from assembly to design

• Naval propulsion: clearance for marine gas turbines covers design, development and procurement, not import — significant for a segment historically dependent on foreign licensors [1].
• Radar and electronic warfare: Arudhra radars for the Navy and Ground-Based Multi-Purpose Jammers for the Air Force deepen domestic sensor and spectrum capability [1].
• Army items such as CBRN reconnaissance vehicles, self-propelled mine layers and Advanced Light Helicopters widen the DPSU–private–MSME order book [1].

Limits to the claim

• AoN is an in-principle approval; RFP, trials and negotiation follow, so headline figures are a multi-year intent, not realised capability.
• Aero-engines, high-end semiconductors and select sub-systems still carry import content even within "indigenous" categories.

Successive DAC decisions therefore signal a structural, policy-anchored reorientation rather than episodic import substitution. Converting AoNs into contracts within predictable timelines, sustaining DRDO–private R&D in propulsion and sensors, and expanding Positive Indigenisation Lists will turn this procurement intent into genuine strategic autonomy under Aatmanirbhar Bharat.