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When the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 introduced the ’Buy (Indian–IDDM)’ category—focused on indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured equipment for the Indian armed forces—its chief architect, the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, did not anticipate that civil and military bureaucrats within the Ministry of Defence would develop mechanisms to circumvent provisions intended to strengthen Atmanirbhar Bharat and incentivise domestic innovation. The Fast Track Procedure (FTP), as detailed in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020—and particularly the Emergency Procurement (EP) category—is now extensively leveraged across all three services to expedite contracts valued at Rs 300 crore or less, enabling Service Headquarters to directly oversee the induction of critical platforms in response to India’s evolving security challenges.
During the 2020–22 China border crisis, the EP framework aptly supported urgent equipment acquisition, assisting the military in addressing capability gaps under pronounced operational pressures. In support of the Make in India and self-reliance objectives, Service Headquarters approved several EP contracts, including some for emerging ventures that were not fully compliant with the prescribed standards. However, the aftermath of Operation Sindoor in May 2025—India’s military response to the Pahalgam massacre—marked a critical juncture. Notable operational deficiencies in systems procured from new domestic firms under the Buy (Indian–IDDM) category prompted renewed scrutiny from end-users, leading the military leadership to favour the broader Buy (Indian) category in recent Requests for Proposal (RFPs). This classification enables technology imports via local assembly, thereby sidelining companies that have made significant investments in indigenous development. Though not all critical technologies are domestically available, this shift raises important questions regarding the Ministry’s long-term planning and its commitment to self-reliance.
Globally, several nations balance urgency with support for local innovation. The United States, through the Buy American Act and the Defence Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), grants priority to domestic firms holding proprietary IP and manufacturing capabilities. Flexible practices, such as post-RFP “Justification and Approval,” enable adjustments that favour U.S. companies. Israel frequently reclassifies procurements to award contracts directly to local suppliers with unique intellectual property, while France utilises embedded preference clauses in RFPs to support national industry leaders, adjusting tender conditions to prioritise domestic IP as needed. These practices demonstrate that strategic urgency and fairness are not mutually exclusive and provide India with policy templates to safeguard national interests.
India finds itself at a pivotal moment in advancing indigenous defence capabilities. While EP procedures were effective for urgent requirements, they may inadvertently disadvantage Indian enterprises. Immediate corrective measures, informed by global best practices, can reestablish priority for IDDM-compliant firms and fortify India’s strategic autonomy.
Recommended actions include:
– Issuing policy guidelines to mandate preference for IDDM-compliant entries during Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) and field trial stages, ensuring precedence for domestic capability even under Buy (Indian) protocols.
– Authorising direct awards for sole IDDM-compliant bids, with verification of IP ownership and localisation, streamlining contract execution under EP.
– Applying the L1 (lowest compliant bidder) principle exclusively among qualified IDDM vendors, thereby reinforcing indigenous competition.
– Establishing a retrospective review mechanism within the Ministry of Defence, with DRDO and industry representatives, to assess EP procurements for overlooked IDDM solutions and recommend corrective action.
– Instituting financial incentives, such as advance payments and tax exemptions, for IDDM vendors to enhance competitiveness in line with international practices.
Adoption of these measures will restore equity, incentivise innovation, and reinforce India’s self-reliance goals. Conversely, failing to act jeopardises trust among innovators and risks relegating the domestic industry to mere assembly, undermining technological sovereignty and entrepreneurial confidence. The imperative is clear: prioritise IDDM companies and assertively pursue defence self-reliance—securing national pride and strategic capability for the future.
Nitin A Gokhale
Author, thought leader and one of South Asia's leading strategic analysts, Nitin A. Gokhale has forty years of rich and varied experience behind him as a conflict reporter, Editor, author and now a media entrepreneur who owns and curates two important digital platforms, BharatShakti.in and StratNewsGlobal.com focusing on national security, strategic affairs and foreign policy matters.
At the beginning of his long and distinguished career, Gokhale has lived and reported from India’s North-east for 23 years, writing and analysing various insurgencies in the region, been on the ground at Kargil in the summer of 1999 during the India-Pakistan war, and also brought live reports from Sri Lanka’s Eelam War IV between 2006-2009.
Author of over a dozen books on wars, insurgencies and conflicts, Gokhale relocated to Delhi in 2006, was Security and Strategic Affairs Editor at NDTV, a leading Indian broadcaster for nine years, before launching in 2015 his own digital properties.
An alumni of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Hawaii, Gokhale now writes, lectures and analyses security and strategic matters in Indo-Pacific and travels regularly to US, Europe, South and South-East Asia to speak at various international seminars and conferences.
Gokhale also teaches at India’s Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), the three war colleges, India's National Defence College, College of Defence Management and the intelligence schools of both the R&AW and Intelligence Bureau.
He tweets at @nitingokhale
