Ministry of Defence Denies Backing Import of 105,000 Pick-up Trucks from India

The Ministry of Defence has denied backing the import of 105,000 pick-up trucks from India, a policy pursued by PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara for the needs of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative programme. This narrative emerged after the Ministry had previously received four vehicles from Mahindra Scorpio.

“In response to information circulating in the public sphere, the Ministry of Defence deems it necessary to provide clarification, so that the public receives accurate information and misunderstandings do not occur,” said the Head of Information and Public Relations of the Ministry of Defence, Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, when asked for confirmation on Thursday (26/2/2026).

Rico affirmed that the Mahindra Scorpio vehicles previously received by the Ministry were purely donations as a form of support for handling the Aceh disaster. The vehicles were used to accelerate logistical mobility and assistance in the field.

“The Mahindra Scorpio vehicles received by the Ministry of Defence from PT Agrinas are humanitarian donations to support disaster relief in Aceh,” he said.

“This assistance is intended to accelerate mobility in the field, so that the distribution of aid, evacuation of residents, and logistical support for affected communities can be carried out more quickly,” he added.

Rico also emphasised that the vehicles received were not included in the procurement of PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, which plans to import from India.

“The receipt of these donations is also independent and not included in the procurement or purchase process of 105,000 units of vehicles by Agrinas, as reported in a number of media outlets,” he said.

The Ministry’s position in this case is only as a recipient of donations. Rico said that it would fully utilise the vehicles for humanitarian purposes and emergency disaster response.

“The Ministry of Defence ensures that all support received is directed to helping affected communities, and is managed openly and can be accounted for,” he said.

For the record, PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara will import 105,000 units of pick-up trucks made in India from the Mahindra and Tata Motors brands. Hundreds of thousands of pick-up trucks will be used for the Merah Putih Village Cooperative.

Agrinas has signed a commercial vehicle procurement contract worth IDR 24.66 trillion. The contract includes the procurement of a total of 105,000 units of vehicles from two automotive manufacturers from India.

A total of 35,000 units of Scorpio Pick Up will be supplied by Mahindra, while the remaining 70,000 units will come from Tata Motors, consisting of 35,000 units of Yodha Pick-Up and 35,000 units of Ultra T.7 Light Truck.

Most recently, Deputy Speaker of the DPR, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, has asked the government to postpone the plan to import 105,000 cars from India for the needs of the Merah Putih Village/Kelurahan Cooperative (KDKMP) programme. He said that the plan needs to be postponed because President Prabowo Subianto is still on a working visit abroad. According to him, the President will also discuss the details of the plan. In addition, he said that the President would seek opinions and assess the readiness of domestic companies. “So we have conveyed the message to postpone it first. That’s it,” said Dasco at the parliament complex, Jakarta, Monday.