Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025 Approved to Boost Transparency and Military Preparedness.

On 14 September 2025, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025, replacing the 2009 version to streamline revenue procurement in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The new manual emphasizes indigenisation, transparency, faster decision-making, and stronger participation from MSMEs, startups, and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

      - The DPM 2025 will govern revenue procurements worth nearly Rs. 1 lakh crore in FY 2025-26 and aims to strengthen operational readiness of the Indian Army (IA), Indian Navy (IN), and Indian Air Force (IAF) while reducing procurement delays and cost escalations.

      - The policy introduces relaxations such as reducing Liquidated Damages (LD) to 0.1%, limiting LD caps to 5%, and exempting prototype development from penalties. It ensures suppliers may receive guaranteed orders for up to five years, extendable to 10 years in special cases.

      - It promotes innovation and indigenisation by encouraging collaboration with Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and academia for designing, developing, and indigenising spare parts, equipment, and advanced defence technologies.

Main Point :-   (i) To improve transparency, the DPM 2025 mandates digital procurement systems, removes the need for No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from Defence PSUs, and caps limited tendering at Rs. 50 lakh, ensuring a fairer competitive process.

      (ii) The manual also strengthens military preparedness with growth provisions for complex weapon systems, 15% cost escalation allowances for urgent repairs, and simplified Government-to-Government (G2G) high-value procurements to accelerate delivery of critical platforms.

(iii) Aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat, the DPM 2025 empowers domestic industries and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to contribute significantly, reducing dependency on imports, while simultaneously promoting jointness and synergy across the three defence services.
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