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Defence ministry signs 1,561-crore contract for bridge laying tanks

Jan 21, 2025 07:04 PM IST

The deal comes a week after the defence ministry signed a ₹2,960-crore contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited to equip the navy with medium-range surface-to-air missiles

NEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Tuesday inked a 1,561-crore contract with Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), based at Avadi in Chennai, to equip the Indian Army with 47 T-72 bridge laying tanks (BLT) for the faster movement of mechanised forces in the battle zone, in a boost for the self-reliance drive in the defence manufacturing sector, the ministry said.

Bridge laying tank is a critical equipment used for launching bridges during offensive and defensive operations by the army’s mechanised forces. (Mohd Zakir/Hindustan Times)
Bridge laying tank is a critical equipment used for launching bridges during offensive and defensive operations by the army’s mechanised forces. (Mohd Zakir/Hindustan Times)

BLT is a critical equipment used for launching bridges during offensive and defensive operations by the army’s mechanised forces.

“It provides integral bridging capability to the tank, enhancing battlefield mobility and offensive capability. The present case being under the Buy Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) category will give impetus to the Make-in-India initiative in defence,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Indian-IDDM category is the most important category of acquisition for indigenisation under the defence procurement policy.

The project will play a pivotal role in boosting the overall economy and increasing employment avenues in the country, the ministry said. HVF is a unit of Armoured Vehicle Nigam Limited, one of the seven defence companies carved out of the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board in 2021 as part of the board’s corporatisation.

The aim was to boost efficiency and competitiveness in the country’s defence manufacturing sector. The other companies created were India Optel Limited, Munitions India Limited, Troop Comforts Limited, Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, Gliders India Limited and Yantra India Limited.

OFB, which earlier controlled 41 ordnance factories, was split into seven government-owned entities that are producing ammunition and explosives, vehicles, weapons and equipment, troop comfort items, opto-electronics gear, parachutes and ancillary products.

The BLT contract was signed by senior officials of the defence ministry and HVF/AVNL in the presence of defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

India has taken a raft of measures to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector during recent years. These include imposing phased import bans on different types of weapons, systems, ammunition, and critical sub-systems and components, creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49% to 74% and improving ease of doing business.

The country is eyeing a turnover of 1.75 lakh crore in the defence manufacturing sector in the financial year 2024-25.

The latest deal comes a week after the defence ministry signed a 2,960-crore contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited to equip the navy with medium-range surface-to-air missiles.

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