India, Dec. 29 -- The defence acquisition council (DAC) on Monday gave its initial approval to the purchase of military hardware worth Rs.79,000 crore, including beyond-visual-range missiles, loitering munitions, long-range rockets, radars, and drone detection and interception systems, to boost the military's combat readiness, the defence ministry said.

The DAC, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, also accorded its acceptance of necessity (AoN) for leasing high-altitude long-range remotely piloted aircraft systems to boost the navy's capabilities in the vast Indian Ocean region, it added. Under India's defence procurement rules, AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military equipment.

The key proposals cleared by th...