Recent Current Affairs related to Make in India

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has signed an MoU with SkyPulse Solutions International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Pvt Ltd for the acquisition, financing, leasing, and lifecycle support of 30 HAL-manufactured helicopters (single and twin-engine variants).

The deal is valued at ₹2,491 crore. The induction of the helicopters is scheduled to begin in FY28.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has marked the 12th anniversary of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Launched in 2014, the scheme aims to position India as a global hub for manufacturing, design, and innovation. The initiative covers a total of 27 sectors, which includes 15 manufacturing sectors and 12 service sectors.

The 10th India-Republic of Korea Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on Defence Industries and Logistics Cooperation was held in New Delhi.

During the meeting, both nations reviewed ongoing bilateral cooperation in defence industries and logistics and discussed avenues to expand defence ties.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract worth ₹586 crore with Accurate Industrial Controls Pvt Ltd (AICPL) for the procurement of 3,257 Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) for T-72 and T-90 tanks of the Indian Army.

In another contract, the MoD has signed an agreement valued at ₹810.79 crore with Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) for the procurement of 160 Satellite Smart Anti-Airfield Weapons (SAT-SAAW) and associated equipment for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Premier Energies has commissioned a 7 Gigawatt (GW) N-type TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) G12R solar cell manufacturing facility in Naidupeta, Andhra Pradesh.

With this, the total solar cell manufacturing capacity of the company has increased from 3.6 GW to 10.6 GW, making it the largest solar cell manufacturing capacity in India.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has mandated Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for smartphone screen protectors under the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021, effective from April 1, 2027.

With this, smartphone screen protectors become the 66th product category under the compulsory registration framework and must conform to the Indian Standard (IS) 19348:2025 before being manufactured, imported, or sold in India. A transition period is granted until March 31, 2027, for manufacturers and importers to meet the prescribed standard.

DRDO has partnered with the CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI) for a ₹50 crore project to develop indigenous advanced lightweight bulletproof glass for armoured vehicles.

The four-year project is currently at an advanced stage and is being executed within DRDO laboratories. The initiative aims to transition the technology from laboratory development to large-scale manufacturing with an industry partner to be selected by DRDO.

Nibe Ltd has signed an MoU with France-based Naval Group to establish a framework for cooperation in naval shipbuilding and the development of defence platforms.

The DRDO has signed its first high-value deep-tech project agreement under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme with the startup Zero mK India Private Limited.

The collaboration aims for the indigenous development of a 20 millikelvin (mK) dilution refrigerator designed for quantum applications.

Researchers from the Electrical Engineering department of the IIT Delhi have designed the first working and demonstrable indigenous micro Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in India.

The researchers demonstrated programmable graphics rendering using a custom floating-point GPU engine. It is to be noted that the engine was implemented entirely in Register Transfer Language (RTL) and mapped to a Spartan-7 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform.

Indian Railways has commissioned KAVACH Version 4.0 for the first time on the South Central Railway (SCR). The project involved the upgradation from KAVACH Version 3.2 to Version 4.0.

The implementation was completed on the Malkajgiri-Kamareddi section of the Hyderabad Division, covering a total distance of 108 Route Kilometres (RKm).

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) has signed an MoU with the government of Andhra Pradesh to serve as the anchor shipyard for a mega greenfield shipbuilding industrial cluster.

The proposed industrial facility is scheduled for development at Dugarajapatnam in the Tirupati district of the state.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh has unveiled several policy initiatives at the ‘VIMARSH 2026’ DRDO-Industry Synergy Meet held in New Delhi under the theme ‘Varta se Vikas’.

During the event, 9 Licensing Agreements for ToT (LAToTs) were handed over to 13 manufacturing partners. DRDO also signed a contract with the Quality Council of India (QCI) for the implementation of the ‘System for Advance Manufacturing Assessment and Rating’ (SAMAR) version 2.0.

A group of scientists led by Dr Meena Mishara has developed indigenous Gallium Nitride (GaN) Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology for high-frequency defence applications, was unveiled.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has partnered with Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (TRSL), a railway rolling stock manufacturer, to establish a 50:50 Joint Venture Company (JVC). The JVC will be responsible for the maintenance of Vande Bharat Sleeper trainsets for a period of 35 years.

India has successfully flight-tested its first indigenous long-range one-way attack drone named ‘KAL’ at the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. Developed by the Noida-based IG Defence, the loitering munition (kamikaze drone) is designed for one-way strike missions.

The drone features an operational range of up to 1,000 km and a payload capacity of 50 kg. It is capable of fully autonomous flight at an altitude of up to 5,000 m using a navigation suite that combines multi-band Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS).

Matangi, an indigenous Autonomous Surface Vessel (USV) developed by Sagar Defence Engineering, has successfully completed a 1,500 km (850 nautical miles) open-ocean voyage from Mumbai to Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

The voyage, which was completed with zero human intervention (no captain or crew on board), was flagged off by Union Minister Rajnath Singh. The mission was conducted under the ‘Swavlamban’ initiative of the Indian Navy to foster self-reliance. The vessel is controlled by an indigenously developed AI-driven operating suite named ‘Genesis’.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh has released a document on Defence Diplomacy named ‘RAKSHA’ in New Delhi. The document outlines the vision of India for strengthening international defence ties over the next 10 years.

The ‘RAKSHA’ framework identifies defence diplomacy as a primary driver for fostering international cooperation and increasing defence exports. It is to be noted that the strategy is integrated with the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Agnikawach Safety Solutions Pvt Ltd has launched ‘Agni Kawach’, the first indigenously developed AI powered safety platform of India.

The platform aims to provide protection against 8 major industrial hazards to establish a global industrial safety ecosystem. It is to be noted that the prototype of the platform has reached Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL-5).

Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) has signed an MoU with the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV), a partnership between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, to explore the co-production of the Javelin All Up Round (AUR) anti-tank missile system in India.

The Javelin is a medium-range, fire-and-forget Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) that uses autonomous target navigation to engage tanks, armoured vehicles, and fortified positions at a distance of up to 5 km.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has notified the “Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme” (MPMS) with a total financial outlay of ₹62,500 crore to enhance global competitiveness, deepen Domestic Value Addition (DVA), and strengthen manufacturing capabilities within the mobile phone production sector.

The tenure of the MPMS is 5 years, spanning from FY27 to FY31. The scheme comprises two Target Segments (TS). TS1 focuses on providing incentives ranging from 2.25% to 5% for mobile phone manufacturing. TS2 is designed to support Indian mobile phone brands with a 5% incentive, plus an additional 3% incentive for Indian design and Research & Development (R&D).