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Defence Ministry Notifies Sixth Positive Indigenisation List of 405 Items — UPSC Current Affairs 2026

Defence18 Aug 2026

Defence Ministry Notifies Sixth Positive Indigenisation List of 405 Items

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1
The Department of Defence Production notified the sixth Positive Indigenisation List on 18 August 2026, covering 405 defence items.
2
The list carries an estimated domestic business potential of Rs 3,070 crore.
3
Of the 405 items, 389 are linked to Defence Public Sector Undertakings and 16 to the Indian Coast Guard.
4
Items cover spares and sub-assemblies for the ALH, LUH, Su-30MKI, Tejas, T-72, T-90 and BMP-II, and for Konkurs-M, Invar and MRSAM missiles.
5
Item-wise details and indicative indigenisation timelines are hosted on the SRIJAN Defence Portal.

●Notified by the Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence, on 18 August 2026
●Sixth Positive Indigenisation List (PIL): 405 items
●Estimated domestic business potential: Rs 3,070 crore
●Break-up: 389 items linked to DPSUs, 16 to the Indian Coast Guard
●Coverage: line replacement units, sub-systems, sub-assemblies, spares, components and raw materials
●Details hosted on the SRIJAN Defence Portal with an indicative timeline for each item

A Positive Indigenisation List is a policy instrument under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat push in defence. Once an item appears on the list, it may be procured only from Indian sources after the indicative timeline attached to it, which gives domestic manufacturers a guaranteed forward market and forces import substitution. The first PIL, notified in August 2020, embargoed imports of 101 major platforms and weapon systems for the Services, including towed artillery guns, short-range surface-to-air missiles and offshore patrol vessels. Later lists have shifted focus to the components layer - the line replacement units, sub-assemblies, spares and raw materials that Defence Public Sector Undertakings and the Coast Guard buy - which is where import dependence has been hardest to break.

●Rotary wing: Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH)
●Fixed wing: Su-30MKI, Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, AL-31FP engine
●Armoured platforms: T-72 and T-90 tanks, BMP-II infantry combat vehicle
●Missiles: Konkurs-M, Invar, MRSAM
●Defence electronics: radars, sonars, satellite communication systems
●Ammunition: High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds

August 2020

First Positive Indigenisation List notified with 101 items - major platforms and weapon systems placed under a staggered import embargo

2021

Second Positive Indigenisation List of 108 items notified

April 2022

Third Positive Indigenisation List released by the Defence Minister

July 2024

Fifth Positive Indigenisation List of 346 items notified for DPSUs, with an import substitution value of about Rs 1,048 crore

18 August 2026

Sixth Positive Indigenisation List of 405 items notified, business potential Rs 3,070 crore

Items in the sixth PIL

405

DPSU-linked items

389

Indian Coast Guard items

Business potential

Rs 3,070 crore

Items across the first five lists

5,012

Items offered on SRIJAN for indigenisation

Over 33,000 (as of June 2026)

Items indigenised so far

Over 15,700, worth about Rs 9,000 crore of import substitution in five years

India has long been among the world's largest arms importers, and the hardest part of that dependence is not the platform but its spares: an imported engine or radar keeps generating foreign-exchange outflow for its whole service life. Reserving line replacement units and sub-assemblies for domestic vendors targets exactly that recurring bill, and it opens a market to MSMEs that cannot bid to build a fighter aircraft but can machine a component for one. The SRIJAN portal is the mechanism that makes this visible - it publishes what is needed and by when, so private industry can plan capacity instead of waiting for a tender.

Exam Relevance

upsc

GS Paper III > Defence - indigenisation, defence industry and Aatmanirbhar Bharat

defence

CDS/AFCAT General Knowledge > Defence production and procurement

ssc

General Awareness > Government initiatives and defence current affairs

railway

General Awareness > National current affairs

Expected Questions

★What is a Positive Indigenisation List and how does it work as a procurement instrument?
★Which portal carries item-wise indigenisation timelines for defence items?
★How many items were on India's first Positive Indigenisation List and in which year was it notified?

Key Terms

Positive Indigenisation List (PIL)

A notified list of defence items that, after a stated timeline, may be procured only from Indian sources.

Line Replacement Unit (LRU)

A modular sub-assembly designed to be swapped out at the operating base rather than repaired in place - a major source of recurring spares imports.

SRIJAN Defence Portal

The Ministry of Defence portal on which DPSUs and Service headquarters offer items to Indian industry for indigenisation, with timelines.

DPSU

Defence Public Sector Undertaking - a state-owned defence manufacturing enterprise under the Ministry of Defence.

priority_highMust Remember

•Sixth PIL: 405 items, Rs 3,070 crore, notified 18 August 2026 by the DDP
•389 DPSU items plus 16 Indian Coast Guard items
•First PIL: August 2020, 101 items; fifth PIL: July 2024, 346 items
•SRIJAN is the portal; the Department of Defence Production is the notifying authority

tips_and_updatesExam Tips

•Do not confuse the Positive Indigenisation List with the Defence Acquisition Procedure categories such as Buy (Indian-IDDM). The PIL says what must be Indian; the DAP says how it is bought.
•Numbers worth carrying: 101 (2020), 108 (2021), 346 (2024), 405 (2026).

Question 1 of 3Score: 0/0

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