PIB Tracker405 more defence items that may no longer be imported
The sixth Positive Indigenisation List covers line replaceable units, sub-assemblies and raw materials for the Su-30MKI, T-90, MRSAM and warships — ₹3,070 crore of business reserved for Indian industry once developed.
What happened
- The sixth Positive Indigenisation List covers 405 strategically important items.
- Estimated business potential is ₹3,070 crore.
- It includes 16 Indian Coast Guard and 389 Defence PSU items.
- Coverage spans Su-30MKI, LCA, T-72, T-90, BMP-II, warships and MRSAM.
- Each item carries an indicative timeline after which it must come from Indian industry.
For Prelims
- Positive Indigenisation List (PIL): a list of items that may not be imported after an indicative date — an embargo with a timeline, not a target.
- This list: the sixth, with 405 items worth about ₹3,070 crore.
- LRU: a Line Replaceable Unit — a module swapped out in the field rather than repaired in place.
- Split: 16 Indian Coast Guard items and 389 DPSU items.
- Platforms covered: ALH, LUH, Su-30MKI, LCA, AL-31FP engine, T-72/T-90, BMP-II, warships.
- Missiles named: Konkurs-M, Invar (anti-tank) and MRSAM (Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile).
- SRIJAN portal: the MoD indigenisation portal where the item list is published.
- 'Make' procedure: the Defence Acquisition Procedure route for indigenous design and development, with MSME participation.
For UPSC: The concrete instrument of defence indigenisation. Use it for import substitution in defence, MSMEs in the defence supply chain, why spares and components are the real dependence, and the Defence Acquisition Procedure's 'Make' route.
What it is NOT: A Positive Indigenisation List is an embargo timeline, not an achievement — the items must still be developed domestically, and the ₹3,070 crore is business potential rather than orders placed.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.12 · GS3.20 · Linkage L2
Anchor
Import dependence in defence does not usually sit in the platform; it sits in the spare that keeps the platform flying.
Substantiation (data)
405 items worth about ₹3,070 crore, of which 389 are DPSU items, spanning LRUs, sub-assemblies, spares, components and raw materials.
Exemplification
Items for the Su-30MKI, the AL-31FP engine and the T-90 target exactly the Russian-origin fleets where spares supply has proved most vulnerable.
Problematisation
An embargo date creates demand certainty but not capability; if domestic development slips, the services face a spares gap rather than a substitution.
Way-forward
Fund development ahead of the embargo date through the Make-I route, and hold DPSUs to published milestone reporting on SRIJAN.
Position
Self-reliance is proved in the spares inventory, not at the platform rollout.
Deploys into: Indigenisation + security forces (GS3.12, GS3.20) · defence import substitution, MSMEs in the defence supply chain, and the 'Make' procedure.
Ministry of Defence · 2026-08-18 · PRID 2300723 · PIB source ↗