Guide 01 Selling to Indian defence
DGQA and DGAQA vendor registration explained
DGQA and DGAQA are separate Ministry of Defence quality assurance bodies. DGQA's technical directorates, including DQA(N) for naval items, approve designs and inspect land, naval and common defence stores. DGAQA does the same for military aviation: aircraft, aero engines, avionics and airborne systems. A supplier deals with whichever one buys or inspects its product.
- Topic
- Selling to Indian defence
- Checked
- 23 September 2026
- Sources
- 4
- Questions
- 7
01
DGQA covers land, naval and common defence stores
DGQA, the Directorate General of Quality Assurance, is the Ministry of Defence organisation responsible for the quality of defence stores bought for the Services. It works through technical directorates: DQA(N) for naval electrical, electronics and weapon equipment and naval stores, and DQA(WP) for marine engineering and hull machinery aboard warships, including their associated electrical and control equipment.
These directorates approve drawings for machinery and spares on order, approve each supplier's Quality Assurance Plan, run inspection and Factory Acceptance Trials against that plan, and accept imported machinery and stores. DGQA also assesses and registers supplier firms, separately from any registration a shipyard or defence PSU runs for the same company.
02
DGAQA covers military aviation
DGAQA, the Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance, works under the Department of Defence Production. It is the authority for quality assurance and final acceptance of military aircraft, aero engines, airborne systems, avionics and allied ground systems, overseeing design, development, production, repair and overhaul work at defence PSUs and private firms.
DGAQA registration and capacity assessment is mandatory when a Service Headquarters' central procurement agency considers a firm for airborne or aviation-related stores, a rule the Ministry of Defence set by letter dated 14 July 2016. Defence public sector undertakings and ordnance factories are excluded from that specific rule, since they run their own quality systems.
03
CEMILAC certifies the design; DGAQA checks production
Together, CEMILAC and DGAQA form India's Technical Airworthiness Authority for military aviation. CEMILAC, the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification, certifies that an aircraft or aero-system design is airworthy and issues the type certificate. DGAQA then ensures that bulk production by industry conforms to the approved engineering specifications and drawings, through quality assurance and final acceptance of each batch.
The same pattern appears on the naval side: a type approval settles the design, and inspection continues on every production lot. An aviation supplier normally meets CEMILAC once, for the design, and DGAQA repeatedly, for every batch it delivers.
04
ISO 9001 and the Self-Certification Scheme
ISO 9001 certification is not universally mandatory to become a defence vendor, but it is widely expected. Many defence PSUs assess a vendor's quality management system during their registration visits, and individual tenders often list it as a qualification criterion, so treat ISO 9001:2015 as a practical baseline rather than an optional extra.
DGQA's Self-Certification Scheme, launched in May 2019, goes further: it lets well-performing registered firms certify their own supplies instead of waiting for DGQA to inspect every lot. Eligibility, as DGQA lists it, includes existing DGQA registration, a supplier rating above 90 percent, and a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015. DGQA itself grants the status; a firm cannot self-declare into it.
05
DGQA, DGAQA and CEMILAC at a glance
Which body a supplier deals with follows the item, not the buyer. A naval electrical supplier answers to DGQA's naval directorates; an avionics or airframe supplier answers to CEMILAC for the design and DGAQA for production.
DGQA, DGAQA and CEMILAC compared
- Scope
- DGQA: land, naval and common defence stores. DGAQA: military aviation.
- Naval directorates
- DQA(N) for electrical, electronics and weapons; DQA(WP) for hull and marine engineering
- Design certification
- CEMILAC issues the airworthiness type certificate for aviation designs
- Production checks
- DGAQA for aviation batches; DQA(N) or DQA(WP) for naval items
- Parent body
- DGQA sits under the Ministry of Defence; DGAQA under the Department of Defence Production
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DGQA and DGAQA vendor registration explained
What is DGQA?
DGQA, the Directorate General of Quality Assurance, is the Ministry of Defence organisation that assures the quality of defence stores bought for the Services. Its technical directorates, such as DQA(N) and DQA(WP) for naval items, approve Quality Assurance Plans, inspect goods, run factory acceptance trials and accept stores. It also registers and assesses supplier firms.
What is DGAQA?
DGAQA, the Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance, works under the Department of Defence Production. It is the authority for quality assurance and final acceptance of military aircraft, aero engines, airborne systems, avionics and allied ground systems, overseeing design, development, production, repair and overhaul work at defence PSUs and private firms, and registers firms.
What is the difference between DGQA and DGAQA?
Both are Ministry of Defence quality assurance bodies. DGQA covers land, naval and common defence stores through directorates such as DQA(N) and DQA(WP). DGAQA covers military aeronautical items: aircraft, aero engines, airborne systems and avionics. A naval electrical supplier deals with DGQA's naval directorates, while an avionics supplier deals with DGAQA.
What is the difference between CEMILAC and DGAQA?
Together they form India's Technical Airworthiness Authority for military aviation. CEMILAC certifies that a design is airworthy and issues the type certificate. DGAQA then ensures that bulk production by industry conforms to the approved engineering specifications and drawings, through quality assurance and final acceptance of each production batch.
Is DGAQA registration mandatory for aviation suppliers?
Yes, for one important route. DGAQA's own guidance states that registration and capacity assessment by DGAQA is mandatory when a Service Headquarters' central procurement agency considers a firm for airborne or aviation-related stores, a rule set by a Ministry of Defence letter dated 14 July 2016. Defence PSUs and ordnance factories are excluded from that specific rule.
Is ISO 9001 mandatory to become a defence vendor?
Not universally, but it is widely expected. DGQA's Self-Certification Scheme requires a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015, and many defence PSUs assess vendors' quality systems during registration visits. Individual tenders may also demand it as a qualification criterion, so treat ISO 9001:2015 as a practical baseline.
What is DGQA's Self-Certification Scheme?
Launched in May 2019, it lets well-performing registered firms certify their own supplies instead of waiting for DGQA to inspect every lot. DGQA's own eligibility list includes existing registration, a supplier rating above 90 percent, and a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015. DGQA grants the status; a firm cannot claim it on its own.
Checked against
Sources
- 01About DGAQA, Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance
- 02Registration of firms, Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance
- 03Brief on testing and certification in the military sector, Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance
- 04DGQA Self-Certification Scheme status, Directorate General of Quality Assurance, Ministry of Defence
This guide explains how the system works in general, as the documents above describe it, and was last checked on 23 September 2026. Rules and thresholds change: the governing document is the authority, not this page.
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