Government signs Rs 66,500 crore deal with HAL for 97 Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets

India's Ministry of Defence has signed the country's biggest defence contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the procurement of 97 Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets. The deal is valued at a whopping 66,500 crore. This major acquisition comes just a day before the Indian Air Force (IAF) is scheduled to retire its long-serving MiG-21 fleet. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has described the deal as a "big Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative." The new Tejas aircraft will have 64% indigenous content and feature 67 additional upgrades over previous versions. The deal aims to bolster the IAF's squadron strength, which is set to decrease to 29 after the MiG-21s are phased out, well below the sanctioned strength of 42. This contract is also a significant morale booster for HAL and India's indigenous defence manufacturing sector.