In big push to Atmanirbhar Bharat, Army approves these 5 Make II projects

Indian Army has approved project sanction orders for five Make -2 projects providing Impetus to Atma Nirbhaarta, the Defence Ministry said in an official statement. 

“Indian Army is spearheading actions to provide impetus to “Make Projects" as the prime drivers of infusion of niche technologies through indigenous development. To give a further boost to the ongoing projects, Indian Army has now approved Project Sanction Orders (PSOs) of five Make II projects," the Ministry of Defence said.

Make -2 projects are essentially industry-funded projects involving design, development and innovative solutions by Indian vendors for development of prototypes, according to the ministry. 

These products are High-Frequency Man Packed Software Designed Radio, Drone Kill System, Infantry Training Weapon Simulator, 155mm Terminally Guided Munitions and Medium Range Precision Kill System, it said.

The provision of Make category of capital acquisition in Defence Procurement Procedure is a vital pillar for realising the vision behind the Make in India initiative.

The Indian Army has 43 ongoing projects under the Make II procedure of Capital Acquisition, the statement read. 

“17 out of 43 projects have been initiated through suo-moto proposals received from the industry, which has generated enthusiasm and confidence in the Indian defence industry for participation in the “Make procedure"," it said.

Make II procurement scheme has given an impetus to increase the Design & Development in the defence industry to achieve indigenisation of high end technology systems in various types of weapon systems, ammunition and modern training systems, which are currently not available in the country.

Multiple measures to expedite the ongoing Make II projects have resulted in tangible outcomes. Around 22 out of 43 Make II projects are now in prototype development stage, which is 66 % of the project cost of ₹27,000 crore.