New Delhi | Under the Narendra Modi government, an order of Rs 36,468 crore for the delivery of 83 LCA Mk 1A Tejas aircraft has been placed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, official sources said on Saturday, as the prime minister visited the defence PSU and took a sortie in the fighter jet.

The delivery of these Tejas aircraft is scheduled to begin by February 2024, they said, asserting that the government has taken giant steps for increasing India's defence preparedness and indigenisation, which includes Tejas fighter aircraft.

The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2016. Currently, two IAF squadrons are fully operational with LCA Tejas, they said.

More than Rs 9,000 crore has been sanctioned for the development of LCA Mk 2, an updated and more lethal version of LCA Tejas, they said.

To further promote indigenisation, including of the aircraft engine, the transfer of technology for manufacturing of the GE engine in India was negotiated with the US firm during Modi's visit to the the country in June 2023, they added.