Bharat Forge has entered into a joint venture agreement with Elbit Systems Ltd, an Israeli company, for joint manufacture of artillery, mortars and advanced guns.
Subject to government and regulatory approvals, the joint venture company will offer solutions in the artillery guns & mortars segment.
The JVC will bring together Elbit Systems’ technology and system integration capabilities and Bharat Forge’s advanced capabilities in the areas of design, engineering, manufacturing, testing and validation, the companies announced in a joint statement today.
“The strategic cooperation between Elbit Systems and Bharat Forge, and specifically the JVC, will address Indian defence requirements with operationally proven systems from Elbit Systems that have been customised and adapted for Indian conditions,” said Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge Limited.
According to a report by Centrum Broking, the Indian government is expected to increase its defence capex to Rs 1,54,200 crore by FY17 from Rs 69,200 crore this fiscal. The report said around Rs 4,23,000 crore worth of opportunity will be created for private players during FY12-FY22 in the defence space.
"The private sector should see an increase in its participation in the defence market in the upcoming years, primarily due to two factors - the Government has created an increasingly favourable policy-environment and taken several concrete steps to level the playing field between them (private firms) and the PSUs," the report said.
