Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2026

The proposed draft of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2026 aims to modernize India's defence acquisition strategy.

Objectives

• Ensure categorization and procurement strategy based on technological availability and manufacturing readiness.
• Accelerate the acquisition process and propel jointness, Atmanirbharta, integration, force modernization, and scaling of production.
• Align with the changing geo-strategic landscape, economic growth, human capital development, and private defence industry growth.

Key Features

• Emphasis on the Buy Indian-IDDM category to boost domestic manufacturing.
• Exclusive procedures for faster acquisition of equipment with short technological cycles.
• Spiral designing and procurement of major platforms.
• Utilization of modern technology before bulk procurement.
• Evaluation of indigenous content and indigenous design content.
• Utilization of indigenous military material.

Procedural Enhancements

• Easing of financial and experience criteria for inclusive participation.
• Delegation of decision-making to speed up acquisition.
• Revamping trials and quality assurance processes.
• Incorporation of digitization and automation in acquisition procedures.
• Focus on indigenous design and retention of IPR, coupled with incentives for innovations.

Impact

• Boost defence manufacturing and exports while restricting imports to critical equipment only.
• Weave the security of the nation and technological growth together toward the vision of Viksit Bharat-2047.

Stakeholder Engagement

• The draft has been uploaded on the Defence Ministry's website for comments or suggestions from stakeholders.
• Feedback is sought by March 3, 2026, in specified formats.

Once approved, the new DAP-2026 will replace the existing Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 and align with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, focusing on domestic capability enhancement and import reduction.