Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)
Structure and Role
The DAC is the apex body in the Ministry of Defence responsible for approving all major capital acquisition proposals for the armed forces. It was constituted in 2001 on the recommendation of the Group of Ministers set up after the Kargil Review Committee report, as part of post-Kargil defence reforms.
- Chaired by the Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister); members include the Chief of Defence Staff, the three service chiefs, and senior Ministry of Defence officials
- The DAC decides "Acceptance of Necessity" (AoN) for a proposal and assigns it a procurement category before it proceeds to the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 process
- Bigger-value proposals subsequently require clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by the Prime Minister, before a contract is signed
- AoN approval by the DAC is not the same as a signed contract — it is the sanction to initiate the procurement process, which can still take years to fructify into deliveries
● Tracked since February 10, 2026 · last seen August 14, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
14 Aug '26
Defence Exports Cross ₹38,000 Crore as DAC Clears ₹8.75 Lakh Crore in Acquisitions
Internal Security
03 Jul '26
Defence Acquisition Council Clears Rs 52,000 Crore Procurement for Armed Forces
Internal Security
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