India clears 5th-gen stealth jet plan

India's defence minister approved on Tuesday a programme to develop an advanced fighter jet prototype, the latest push to boost local arms production, nearly three weeks after a conflict with arch-rival Pakistan.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the prototype of a 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), the ministry said in a statement, calling it a "significant push towards enhancing India's indigenous defence capabilities".

India's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) — a government agency under the Ministry of Defence responsible for aircraft design -- is "set to execute the programme through industry partnership", it added.

"This is an important step...which will be a major milestone towards aatmanirbharta ("self-reliance") in the aerospace sector".