Defence stocks HAL, BDL, others gain ahead of Defence Acquisition Council meet

Defence stocks such as Bharat Electronics Ltd., Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Bharat Dynamics Ltd., Data Patterns Ltd., Astra Microwave Products Ltd. among others gained on Monday, December 29, ahead of a key meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

The council is set to take up proposals to acquire weapon systems worth ₹80,000 crore, people familiar with the matter told CNBC-TV18.

Back in September, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the new Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025, a comprehensive framework aimed at speeding up revenue procurement for the Armed Forces, boosting domestic defence industry participation, and aligning processes with the needs of modern welfare.

The DPM 2025 emphasises on Aatmanirbharta n defence manufacturing, encouraging participation from the private industry, MSMEs and startups as well as the defence public sector undertakings (PSUs).

The Nifty India Defence index has declined 2.9% in the past month but has gained nearly 20% this year, so far.

All 18 stocks in the index were trading with gains in early trade

on monday, with top gainer Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd. up nearly 5%.

For the year so far, five out of the 18 stocks part of the Nifty India Defence Index have delivered negative returns. Garden Reach is the top gainer on the index in 2025, with gains of 55%, while Zen Tech is the worst performer, with a 44% drop.

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