The final form of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) - 2020 has been unveiled by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday. This follows the Defence Minister approving the constitution of the Main Review Committee under Chairmanship of Director General (Acquisition) Apurva Chandra in August 2019 for preparation of DAP-2020. DAP 2020 will be applicable with effect from October 1, 2020, an official statement said.
DAP 2020 is the renamed iteration of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). The first DPP was promulgated in the year 2002 and has since been revised periodically to provide impetus to the growing domestic industry and achieve enhanced self reliance in defence manufacturing, the statement said.
The DAP 2020 also enables the notification of a List of Weapons or Platforms that will be banned for import. “Relevant incorporation has been done in the DAP to ensure that no equipment as mentioned in the list is procured through import post timelines notified,” the statement added.
The DAP 2020 focuses on FDI in defence manufacturing and indigenization of the manufacturing prices. “With the announcement of new FDI Policy, suitable provisions have been incorporated like new category ‘Buy (Global – Manufacture in India)’ done to encourage foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to setup ‘manufacturing or maintenance entities’ through its subsidiary in India while enabling requisite protections to domestic industry,” the statement said.
“As part of the Defence Reforms announced in the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan, setting up of a project management unit (PMU) has been mandated to support contract management. The PMU will facilitate obtaining advisory and consultancy support in specified areas to streamline the acquisition process,” the statement said. This is being done to ensure a time bound defence procurement process and faster decision making.