NEW DELHI – The Indian defence ministry today approved military purchasesworth over Rs 5,500 crore, including 12 high power radars for the IndianAir Force, likely to be deployed at Pakistan China borders.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council(DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.The DAC, defenceministry’s highest decision-making body on procurement, met here today andaccorded approval for the procurement of equipment for the defence forcesvalued at over Rs 5,500 crore, the ministry said.
Pursuing the goal of indigenisation and self-reliance in the field ofdefence procurements, the DAC approved procurement of 12 High Power Radarsfor the Indian Air Force, it said.
Earlier in May, India has concluded price negotiations with Russia for anearly Rs 40,000 crore deal to procure S-400 Triumf air defence missilesystemslink>forthe Indian Air Force, officials said.
They said the two countries are now trying to find a way out to evade theprovisions of a US law that seeks to punish countries and entities engagedin transactions with the defence or intelligence establishment of Russia.
“The negotiations for the missile deal have been concluded. The financialcomponent has been finalised,” a top official involved in the negotiationsfor the deal with Russia told PTI.
The official said both Russia and India are likely to announce the dealbefore an annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RussianPresident Vladimir Putin in October.
Two other officials said both sides are now looking at ways to insulate thedeal from the sanctions announced by the US against Russia under itsCountering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).The issueis understood to have figured during Modi’s informal talks with Putin inSochi last week.
There has been mounting concerns in India over the US sanctions againstRussian defence majors including Rosoboronexport as billions of dollars ofmilitary purchases may be impacted because of the punitive measure.
The US had announced sanctions against Russia under the stringent law forits alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016.