The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today approved capital acquisition proposals of the defence services, valued at Rs 15,935 crore. These included the procurement of Light Machine Guns for the three services through the Fast Track Procedure at an estimated cost of over Rs 1819 crore. “This procurement will meet the operational requirement of the troops deployed at the borders,” said a statement issued by the defence ministry.The DAC also approved the procurement of seven lakh forty thousand assault rifles for the three services. These rifles will be made by the Ordnance Factory Board and the private industry at an estimated cost of Rs 12,280 crore. The DAC has also approved the procurement of 5719 sniper rifles for the army and the air force at an estimated cost of Rs 982 crore. “While these high precision weapons will be bought with ‘Buy Global’ categorisation, their ammunition will be initially procured and subsequently manufactured in India,” read the statement.Furthermore, for enhancing the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the Indian naval ships, the DAC also approved the procurement of Advanced Torpedo Decoy Systems.