NEW DELHI: India’s defence ministry on Thursday gave the initial nod to procure weapons worth 2.23 trillion rupees ($26.76 billion), it said in a statement.

An Indian official aware of the details of the approvals said they included 97 indigenous fighter jets and 156 combat helicopters worth around 1.15 trillion rupees ($13.80 billion) to be bought from state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.