DAP 2026 vs DAP 2020:
what changes, and what it means for you

First, the status

DAP 2026 is still a draft. The Ministry of Defence released it for public consultation on 10 February 2026, with comments due by 3 March 2026. Its covering note says that, once approved, it will replace DAP 2020. As at the time of writing no final version has been notified, so every procurement in progress is still governed by DAP 2020. The draft also says a separate procedure for aerospace systems is being worked out and will be added later.

Everything below compares the consultation draft with the published text of DAP 2020. Clause references are to those two documents. The final DAP 2026 may differ, so treat this as a guide to direction, not a statement of the rules in force.

The idea behind the draft

The draft opens with a statement of intent that explains most of the detail that follows:

The metric of success is not just “Made in India,” but “Owned by India.”

It goes on to say the focus shifts “from Transfer of Technology (ToT), which often results in dependency on legacy systems, to Co-Development and Intellectual Property (IP) Ownership”, and that capital acquisitions would prioritise keeping source code, critical design data and upgrade authority with Indian entities. Almost every change below follows from that: indigenous content is measured more strictly, indigenous design gets a formal definition with verification and penalties, and the categories that rely on licensed production are reshaped.

The changes at a glance

1. Categories: four Buy routes instead of five

DAP 2020 had five Buy categories (Chapter I, paras 8 to 12). The draft keeps four (Chapter I, para 17):

1. Buy (Indian-IDDM) stays at the top.
2. Buy (Indian) and Manufacture in India is new. It has a Buy component, in which an Indian vendor may import from a foreign OEM, and a Manufacture component, in which production is indigenised through ToT, possibly in stages from semi-knocked-down kits to full manufacture. It can be run with a Buy quantity of zero. In effect it takes the place of DAP 2020’s Buy (Indian) and Buy and Make (Indian).
3. Buy (Global) and Manufacture in India, renamed from Buy (Global-Manufacture in India).
4. Buy (Global).

Three rules are tightened around them:

• A Categorisation Matrix is mandatory (Chapter I, para 21). Service HQs must score vendor responses on operational need, TRL, manufacturing readiness, IC deliverability, MRO and the Positive Indigenisation Lists, and include the matrix in the case for AoN.
• Buy (Indian-IDDM) is mandatory where two or more eligible Indian vendors can meet the requirement. Where only one can, the draft allows an ab-initio single-vendor IDDM case if the product is at TRL 6 to 9, certified by a recognised agency.
• Positive Indigenisation List items can be bought under the two “Manufacture in India” categories only with a Buy quantity of zero, and never under Buy (Global).

2. Indigenous content: higher, stricter and harder to dress up

The category-wise IC requirement (DAP 2020, Chapter I, para 21; draft DAP 2026, Chapter I, para 27.4):

The headline percentages are only part of it. The draft also changes what counts (Chapter I, paras 27.1 to 27.5):

• A narrower base. IC is calculated on a Calculated Base Contract Price, which leaves out transport, insurance, installation, commissioning, training, AMC/CMC and buyer-nominated equipment.
• Half of IC must be made in India. At least 50% of the required IC must be material, components or software manufactured in India. Indian labour, services and margin on imported kits can no longer carry the whole number.
• ICT projects (other than systems projects) need at least 10% more IC than the category minimum.
• Indian vendors that meet the indigenous design requirement may offer 10% less IC than the approved level in the two Manufacture in India categories.
• IC can rise during the contract (a “graduated approach”), but the trials-stage minimum must be met and the cumulative IC across the whole contract must reach the target. Vendors must submit a phase-wise Indigenisation Plan.
• Reporting goes down the supply chain. Every tier vendor whose supplies exceed Rs 10 crore or 5% of the prime’s price (whichever is lower) must report IC. Anything from smaller suppliers or traders is assumed to be 90% foreign, and any tier that does not certify its IC is treated as having none.

The rewards for indigenous materials (5% to 15% of material cost) carry over from DAP 2020. The draft adds rewards of up to 1% of contract price for each identified component made in India and up to 2% for each critical technology absorbed, with a combined cap of 10% of contract price or Rs 400 crore (Chapter I, para 27.9).

3. Indigenous design: defined, verified and enforced

This is the most important change for anyone who owns, or claims to own, a design.

DAP 2020 asked IDDM vendors for an undertaking on indigenous design and let the evaluation committee verify it. The draft gives Indigenous Design a full definition (Chapter I, para 26):

• Design components. The vendor must own or hold the complete technical artefacts: design layouts and drawings, circuit diagrams, Gerber files, source code for the main integration software and firmware, development environments, libraries and qualification reports. For platforms, it must own the system-level design and architecture and be able to substitute components and manage obsolescence.
• Operational rights. Unrestricted rights to manufacture, support, modify, upgrade, develop next-generation versions and export (with government approval), without dependence on a foreign OEM.
• Acquired IP counts only if fully owned. Buying complete ownership of a foreign design qualifies. A licence does not.
• ToT from an Indian design owner qualifies if the source really is the Indian owner of the design.

ID is mandatory for Buy (Indian-IDDM), Make-I, Make-II, iDEX, TDF and D&D. MoD may verify it at the vendor’s premises within two years of contract signature, and the Performance-cum-Warranty Bank Guarantee is released only after verification. Failure to substantiate the claim can mean forfeiture of the EMD or the PWBG, plus further penalties for false undertakings. In the other categories, meeting ID earns an L1 credit of up to 10% for the main system and up to 2% per specified sub-system, capped at 15%, provided the IP is protected under Indian law.

4. Offsets: gone for new contracts

DAP 2020 required foreign vendors to discharge offsets in Buy (Global) cases with an AoN of Rs 2,000 crore or more, and Indian vendors in Buy (Global) who fell below 30% IC had to discharge offsets too (Chapter I, paras 12 and 14).

The draft has no offset provisions for new contracts. Its only reference is the transition clause (Chapter I, para 36.6): ongoing offset contracts continue under the rules that applied when they were signed. Indigenisation is pursued instead through the IC, ID and “Manufacture in India” requirements, and through the rule that every Buy (Global) case carries a proposal for indigenous development.

5. Make, iDEX and TDF: more money, and a promise to buy

Make-I. Government funding stays at up to 70% of prototype development cost, but the ceiling per Development Agency rises from Rs 250 crore to Rs 400 crore, may be exceeded case by case, and the Acquisition Wing may notify a list of items with 100% government funding (Chapter III, para 2.2). Promising iDEX and TDF projects can graduate to Make-I, with the winners issued the RFP directly (para 2.3).

A guaranteed first order. When an iDEX winner or TDF developer completes successful trials, the draft makes it mandatory to buy the Minimum Pilot Order Quantity under the iDEX or TDF guidelines (Chapter IV, para 5.1).

Buying prototypes that are nearly there. Where a prototype does not meet 100% of the preliminary requirements, the draft allows staged procurement (Chapter IV, para 7.4):

Software is trialled differently. Software projects get “Deploy as Developed” validation: lab-based checks and limited field deployment instead of traditional trials, with improvements allowed after the trial (Chapter IV, para 7.3).

6. Two new procedures

Low-Cost Capital Acquisition (LCCA) (Chapter VII). Small, fast buys of indigenous equipment for evaluation before bulk procurement: up to Rs 75 crore a case, within an annual ceiling of Rs 2,000 crore across all Services and the Coast Guard. Only Buy (Indian-IDDM) and Buy (Indian) and Manufacture in India equipment is eligible. LCCA cases are exempt from RFI, SQR formulation and trials, the AoN is valid for two months, and a vendor can make a suo-moto proposal, which is then published for 30 days so challengers can respond.

Long-Term Bulk Acquisition (LTBA) (Chapter I, para 19.1). Capital-intensive, complex equipment and ammunition bought from Indian or foreign vendors over the long term, in tranches, with progressive indigenisation and upgrades.

7. Smaller changes worth knowing

• AoN validity becomes 24 weeks for all cases and 52 weeks for turnkey projects, against six months and one year in DAP 2020.
• Fast Track Procedure liquidated damages stay at 1.5% a week, capped at 15%, as in DAP 2020.
• Planning still runs on the 10-year Integrated Capability Development Plan. Each category now carries a technology-readiness band: TRL 1 to 5 for Make-I, Make-II and D&D, TRL 5 to 9 for Buy (Indian-IDDM), and TRL 8 to 9 for the two Manufacture in India categories.

What it means for you

This section is Vayuantriksh’s reading of the draft, not legal advice.

What to do now

1. Plan your live bids under DAP 2020. It remains the procedure in force until DAP 2026 is notified, and cases already at RFP stage stay under the procedure in which their AoN was accorded.
2. Audit your design ownership. List what you own outright, what you license, and what documentation you could show an MoD verification team at your premises.
3. Rebuild your IC calculation on the new base. Strip out transport, installation, training and AMC, and check whether at least half of what remains is India-made material, components or software.
4. Talk to your tier suppliers about certifying their IC, since uncertified tiers will count as zero.
5. Watch for the final notification. We track the status of DAP 2026 on Opportunity Watch and will update this comparison when the final text is published.