×

UPSC Courses

DNA banner

DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Monthly DNA

05 Jun, 2021

40 Min Read

DAC nod for building 6 conventional submarines

GS-II : Government policies and interventions Government policies and interventions

DAC nod for building 6 conventional submarines

What is Defense Acquisition Council?

  • The Defence Acquisition Council is the highest decision-making body in the Defence Ministry for deciding on new policies and capital acquisitions for the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Indian Coast Guard.
  • The Minister of Defence is the Chairman of the Council.
  • It was formed, after the Group of Ministers' recommendations on 'Reforming the National Security System', in 2001, post-Kargil War (1999).

What is the news?

  • The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the issuance of a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the construction of six conventional submarines under Project-75I at an estimated cost of? 43,000 crore.
  • At a meeting, it also approved the procurement of air defence guns and ammunition for the Army at an approximate cost of ? 6,000 crores.
  • This is a landmark approval, being the first case processed under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model. This would be one of the largest ‘Make in India’ projects and it will create a tiered industrial ecosystem for submarine construction in India.
  • With this approval, India would be enabled to achieve its 30-year submarine construction programme envisioned by the government to acquire national competence in their building and for the Indian industry to independently design and construct them, he noted.

What is the Strategic Partnership model?

  • The SP model of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) aims to promote the role of Indian industry in manufacturing and build a domestic defence industrial ecosystem.
  • One company would be selected for each area based on its competence.
  • That company would then tie up with the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer selected through the procurement process, to build the platform in India with significant technology transfer.

Advantages of SP model

  • It will boost private sector participation.
  • It will create domestic expertise in four key areas, namely, fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines, armoured vehicles and main battle tanks.
  • It will enhance competition, increase efficiencies and facilitate faster and more significant absorption of technology.
  • It is also aimed at creating a tiered industrial ecosystem, triggering innovation and enabling participation in global value chains as well as promoting exports.

Concerns about the SP model

  • The Armed Forces feel that the SP model will block new technology and new players coming to the defence sector.
  • The existing defence players argue for committed orders for the next 30 years to give them economies of scale as defence involves large investments.

Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020

  • Recently, a new Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) (erstwhile Defence Procurement Procedure or DPP), 2020 was released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
  • Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020 envisages the basic tenets of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ and encourages indigenous designing and manufacturing of defence items. The proposals for indigenous design and manufacturing are considered under the ‘Make’ Procedure of DAP-2020.
  • The ‘Make’ Procedure aims to achieve the objective of self-reliance by involving greater participation of Indian industries including the private sector through the following mechanisms:
    1. Make-I (Government Funded): This involves the design and development of equipment, systems, major platforms or upgrades thereof by the industry. Ministry provides financial support up to 70% of prototype development costs or a maximum of Rs. 250 crores per Development Agency (DA).
    2. Make-II (Industry Funded): This includes design & development and innovative solutions by an Indian vendor, for which no Government funding is provided, but it has the assurance of procurement on successful prototype development.

Ongoing Defense Acquisition Procedures:

  • As of date, there are 4 ongoing projects under the Make-I category.
  • Further, 56 proposals have been accorded ‘Approval in Principal’ under the Make-II category out of which 23 proposals have been accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AON).
  • In addition, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has also undertaken 233 projects during the past three years since 2018.
  • The projects include new defence equipment such as Cruise missiles, Hypersonic missiles, Anti-Ship missiles, Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rocket, a Mounted Gun System, ammunition, Electronic Warfare system, Radars, Torpedos, High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, etc.
  • Further, in order to promote indigenous design and development of defence equipment ‘Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)}’ category under DAP is accorded topmost priority for procurement of capital equipment.
  • Ministry of Defence has notified a ‘Negative list of 101 identified items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence.
  • This offers a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture these items indigenously and develop capabilities to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces.
  • This list includes some high-technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, light combat helicopters (LCHs), radars etc. to fulfil the needs of our Defence Services.
  • Further, an indigenization portal namely SRIJAN has also been launched in August 2020 for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs)/Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)/Services with an industry interface to provide development support to MSMEs/Startups/Industry for import substitution.

Key Points of DAP 2020

The DAP contains policies and procedures for procurement and acquisition from the capital budget of the MoD in order to modernise the Armed Forces including the Coast Guard.

Evolution of DAP

  • The first Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) was promulgated in 2002.
  • A committee under the chairmanship of the Director General (Acquisition) was constituted to review the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016.
  • DPP 2016 was released replacing the DPP 2013 based on the recommendations of the Dhirendra Singh committee.
  • It focussed on indigenously designed, developed and manufactured weapon systems.
  • It was facing several issues like lack of transparency (leading to Rafale Scam), inconvenient offset regulations etc.

Objective

  • Turning India into a global manufacturing hub.
  • Aligned with the vision of the Government of Atmanirbhar Bharat and empowering Indian domestic industry through the Make in India initiative.

Salient Features

For Ease of Doing Business:

  • Time-Bound Defence Procurement Process and Faster Decision Making: By setting up a Project Management Unit to support contract management and to streamline the Acquisition process.
  • Revised Offset Guidelines: Preference will be given to the manufacturing of complete defence products over components and various multipliers have been added to give incentivisation in the discharge of offsets.
  • Further, there will be no offset clause in government-to-government, single vendor and Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA).
  • Offsets are a portion of a contracted price with a foreign supplier that must be re-invested in the Indian defence sector, or against which the government can purchase technology.
  • Multipliers are credit values earned on offset transactions. A multiplier of 3 means a foreign company can claim credits up to three times its actual offset investment.
  • The offset policy for defence deals was adopted in 2005 for all defence capital imports above Rs. 300 crore under which the foreign vendor is required to invest at least 30% of the value of the contract in India.
  • The offset clause was hindering the transfer of technology, according to a recent CAG report.
  • Rationalization of Procedures for Trials and Testing: The scope of trials will be restricted to the physical evaluation of core operational parameters.

To Develop India into Global Manufacturing Hub:

  • FDI in Defence Manufacturing: Provisions have been incorporated like a new category ‘Buy (Global – Manufacturer in India)’, to encourage foreign companies to set up manufacturing through its subsidiary in India.
  • To promote Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives:
  • Reservation in Categories for Indian Vendors: Some categories like Buy (Indian Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured -IDDM), Production Agency in Design & Development etc. will be exclusively reserved for Indian Vendors and FDI of more than 49% is not allowed.
  • Ban on Import of Certain Items: With a view to promote domestic and indigenous industry, the MoD will notify a list of weapons/platforms banned for import.
  • Indigenisation of Imported Spares: Steps to promote manufacturing of parts in India have been taken. This includes establishment of co-production facilities through Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA) achieving ‘Import Substitution’ and reducing Life Cycle Cost.
  • Overall Enhancement in Indigenous Content (IC): This has been done in all the categories, for products like softwares etc, as follows:

Other Features

  • Cost Cutting: Leasing has been introduced as a new category for acquisition in addition to the existing ‘Buy’ and ‘Make’ categories so that periodical rental payments are made instead of huge capital investment.
  • This will be useful for military equipment not used in actual warfare like transport fleets, trainers, simulators, among others.

Other Related Initiatives:

  • Recently, the Ministry of Defence has formulated a Draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020).
  • Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) has been operationalised to provide necessary incubation and infrastructure support to the startups in the defence area.
  • iDEX would be further scaled up to engage with 300 more startups and develop 60 new technologies/products during the next five years.
  • Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti was launched to promote a greater culture of innovation and technology development and file a higher number of patents in Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
  • It would be scaled up for promoting the creation of Intellectual Property in the sector and its commercial utilisation.

Way Forward

  • Self-reliance in defence manufacturing is a crucial component of effective defence capability and to maintain national sovereignty and achieve military superiority. The DAP 2020 not only protects the interests of domestic manufacturers by indigenization of technology, but also provides impetus to foreign investment in the country.
  • Given the key geostrategic challenges, emanating from the threat of two-front war (against China and Pakistan combinedly), India needs to carry out much-needed defence reforms. DAP 2020 is the one of the many needed defence reforms.

Source: TH

OPCW (Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)

GS-II : International treaties and conventions Weapons of Mass Destruction

OPCW (Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)

  1. Not under UN. Independent, autonomous body having a working relationship with UN.
  2. It implements the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997. It prohibits
    1. Developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling or retaining Chemical Weapons.
    2. Direct or indirect transfer.
    3. Use or military prepare for use.
    4. Assisting, encouraging, and inducing other states in engaging in such acts.
    5. Use of riot control agents as a method of warfare.
  3. It has got Nobel Peace Prize.

Source: TH

Treatment of Cancer: SPAG9 and ASPAGNIITM

GS-III : S&T Health

Treatment of Cancer: SPAG9 and ASPAGNIITM

  • Cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs. The latter process is called metastasizing and is a major cause of death from cancer.
  • A neoplasm and malignant tumor are other common names for cancer.
  • Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical and thyroid cancer are the most common among women.
  • Cancer kills 8.51 lakh people in India every year (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2020, Globocan).
  • As per World Health Organization (WHO), one in 10 Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in 15 will die of cancer.
  • Therefore, it is all the more critical to make extraordinary breakthroughs and innovations for this deadly disease.
  • To successfully implement innovation newer modalities for cancer treatment, researchers at the New Delhi-based National Institute of Immunology (NII), an Autonomous Institute of Department of Biotechnology (DBT),and clinicians at Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai have been working together to translate new scientific discoveries into improved care for cancer patients.
  • Over the past two decades, this team has been engaged in translating breakthrough that promises to add a highly potent weapon to the armoury against cancer especially employing targeted cancer Immunotherapy.
  • India's first indigenous tumour antigen SPAG9 was discovered by Dr Anil Suri in 1998 who is heading the Cancer Research Program at NII. In a recent development, the SPAG9 antigen has received the trademark ASPAGNIITM.
  • Currently, ASPAGNIITM is being used in dendritic cell (DC) based immunotherapy in cervical, ovarian cancer and will also be used in breast cancer.

What is Immunotherapy?

  • Immunotherapy is a new approach that exploits the body’s inner capability to put up a fight against cancer.
  • With this approach, either the immune system is given a boost, or the T cells are “trained’’ to identify recalcitrant cancer cells and kill them. In this personalised intervention, those patients expressing SPAG9 protein can be treated with DC-based vaccine approach.
  • In DC-based vaccine, patient’s cells called monocytes from their blood are collected and modified into what are called dendritic cells.
  • These dendritic cells are primed with ASPAGNIITM and are injected back to the patient to help the ‘fighter’ cells, or T-cells, in the body to kill the cancer cells.
  • DC-based immunotherapy is safe, affordable and can promote antitumor immune responses and prolonged survival of cancer patients.
  • Further with the funding support of the Department of Biotechnology in future, employing ASPAGNIITM a phase 2 randomised controlled clinical trial to evaluate the role of metronomic chemotherapy and dendritic cell vaccine in recurrent hormone receptor-negative breast cancer will also be initiated at Cancer Institute, Adyar.

Conclusion

  • The ASPAGNIITM is a true example of translational cancer research and the Atmanirbhar Bharat spirit. It will eventually be helpful to patientsin India and the world. This will be a real morale boost in affordable, personalised,and indigenous products for cancer treatment.

Source: PIB

SAGE portal for the Elderly

GS-I : Social issues Old age

SAGE portal for the Elderly

  • The SAGE ( Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine) initiative portal will be a “one-stop access” to elderly care products and services by credible start-ups.
  • The SAGE portal will be opened for applications from 5th June 2021 onwards.
  • The start-ups will be selected on the basis of innovative products and services, which they should be able to provide across sectors such as health, housing, and care centres, apart from technological access linked to finances, food and wealth management, and legal guidance.
  • The SAGE project aims to identify, evaluate, verify, aggregate, and deliver products, solutions and services directly to the stakeholders.
  • The Ministry will act as a facilitator, enabling the elderly to access the products through these identified start-ups. India’s elderly population is on the rise, and as per surveys, the share of elders, as a percentage of the total population in the country, is expected to increase from around 7.5% in 2001 to almost 12.5% by 2026, and surpass 19.5% by 2050.

Source: PIB

Other Related News

04 June,2021
NITI Aayog SDG India Index 2020

NITI Aayog SDG India Index 2020 The NITI Aayog launched its index in 2018 to monitor the country’s progress on the goals through data-driven assessment and to foster a competitive spirit among the States and Union Territories in achieving them. It provides holistic view on social,

Black Carbon study by World Bank

Black Carbon study by World Bank About Black Carbon Black Carbon (BC) =It is a Pollutant as well as a GHG. It is a solid particle or aerosol & a component of Particulate Matter. Black carbon consists of pure carbon in several  linked forms. It is formed through the incomplete

VERITAS Mission and DAVINCI+ Mission: NASA Missions on Venus

VERITAS Mission and DAVINCI+ Mission: NASA Missions on Venus NASA announced two missions to Venus, Earth’s closest planetary neighbour, as part of its ‘Discovery Program’ that aims to explore and study the solar system. Missions are The VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Rad

03 June,2021
MGNREGA payment through Caste Categories

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) It was started in the 10th five-year plan in 2005. It works under the Ministry of Rural Development. Funding: Centrally Sponsored with the pattern 90:10. Providing provides a legal guarantee of&

Model Tenancy Act, 2021

Model Tenancy Act, 2021 A new Model Tenancy Act has been approved by the Union cabinet on June 2, 2021. The main trigger for this is the 1.1 crore vacant houses that were found to be locked and empty in the 2011 census. Chances are that this number must have risen in the past 10 years. T

Toppers

Search By Date

Newsletter Subscription
SMS Alerts

Important Links

UPSC GS Mains Crash Course - RAW Prelims Answer Key 2024