Guide 03 Indigenisation and Make in India
What is a Positive Indigenisation List, and what is in the sixth list?
A Positive Indigenisation List is a Ministry of Defence notification of items that will be procured only from Indian industry after an indicated timeline. The first five Department of Defence Production lists covered 5,012 items; the sixth, notified on 18 August 2026, added 405 more, worth an estimated Rs 3,070 crore of business.
- Topic
- Indigenisation and Make in India
- Checked
- 23 September 2026
- Sources
- 3
- Questions
- 5
01
Two families of list, two different issuers
The Department of Military Affairs issues Positive Indigenisation Lists for systems and platforms used by the Services; five such lists now cover 509 items. The Department of Defence Production issues a separate series for DPSUs, covering sub-systems, spares, components and raw materials; six lists have now been notified. Both work the same way: an item's entry starts a timeline after which it is bought only from Indian industry, but the two series' item counts should not be added together as if they were one list.
02
What the sixth list, notified 18 August 2026, contains
The sixth Department of Defence Production list added 405 items: 389 for the DPSUs and 16 for the Indian Coast Guard, together worth an estimated Rs 3,070 crore of business. The items span line replaceable units, sub-systems, spares, components and raw materials used on helicopters, the Su-30MKI, the LCA, T-72 and T-90 tanks, warships, missile systems, radars, sonars, fire control systems and satellite communication equipment. Full item-level detail is published on the SRIJAN portal.
- Helicopters
- Su-30MKI and LCA fighter aircraft
- T-72 and T-90 tanks
- Warships, missile systems and radars
- Sonars, fire control and satellite communication systems
03
What happens once an item is on a list
Each item carries an indicative timeline for indigenisation. DPSUs and the Coast Guard pursue listed items through their own Make procedures and in-house development, with industry participation, particularly MSMEs, and once indigenous development succeeds, procurement shifts to Indian industry rather than the import route. The Ministry of Defence reported more than 15,700 items indigenised in total, with an estimated import substitution value of about Rs 9,000 crore over the preceding five years, and DPSUs placing about Rs 10,000 crore of orders on domestic vendors for indigenised items up to March 2026.
04
Who else buys against these lists
DQA(N), the naval quality assurance directorate, carries out quality assurance for equipment and stores procured by the Navy, the Coast Guard and shipyards, which is why 16 Coast Guard items sit inside the sixth Department of Defence Production list alongside the 389 DPSU items. A vendor developing a listed naval or Coast Guard item should expect the inspecting authority named on its purchase order to be a DQA(N) establishment, not a generic buyer inspection team.
Asked next
Questions people also ask
What is a Positive Indigenisation List, and what is in the sixth list?
How many Positive Indigenisation Lists are there as of September 2026?
As of September 2026 there are five Department of Military Affairs lists, covering 509 items for the Services, and six Department of Defence Production lists for DPSUs. The first five DDP lists covered 5,012 items and the sixth, notified on 18 August 2026, added 405 more. Expect the count to keep rising as further lists are notified.
What should a vendor do if the sixth list names an item it can make?
Check the item's detail on the SRIJAN portal, where the sixth list's line replaceable units, sub-systems, spares, components and raw materials are published. The relevant DPSU or the Indian Coast Guard then runs its own Make procedure or in-house development route, publishing an Expression of Interest or RFP on its own website. A listing alone is not an order; it is an invitation to develop and qualify the item.
Does a Positive Indigenisation List ban imports immediately?
No. Each item carries an indicative timeline, not an immediate cutoff. Import continues until indigenous development succeeds and the item is qualified to the buyer's requirement, after which procurement moves to Indian industry. The exact date an individual item stops being imported depends on how quickly a qualified Indian source is developed and accepted.
Are Coast Guard items on the same list as DPSU items?
Yes, in the sixth list. Notified on 18 August 2026, it combined 389 items for DPSUs with 16 items for the Indian Coast Guard in a single notification, indigenised through Make procedures and in-house development with industry participation. Coast Guard procurement also falls under DQA(N)'s quality assurance charter, alongside Navy and shipyard stores.
How much of India's defence indigenisation has actually been delivered, not just listed?
The Ministry of Defence reported more than 15,700 items indigenised, with an estimated import substitution value of about Rs 9,000 crore, over the five years to August 2026. Separately, DPSUs had placed about Rs 10,000 crore of orders on domestic vendors for indigenised items, including in-house production, up to March 2026. Both figures cover the programme as a whole, not any single list.
Checked against
Sources
- 01Sixth Positive Indigenisation List notified: 405 items, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence
- 02SRIJAN portal and indigenisation programme update, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence
- 03DQA(N): Directorate of Quality Assurance (Naval), 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.
On this site
Where this meets the work
- How indigenisation works here
- The indigenisation service
- Defence contract works
- Defence procurement terms explained
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