Defence Ministry inks ₹1,476 crore contract with BEL for mobile electronic systems

The Ministry of Defence has signed a ₹1,476 crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited for the procurement of five Ground-Based Mobile Electronic Systems for the Indian Army, the government said on Tuesday.

The agreement, inked in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi, falls under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category and carries a minimum indigenous content of 72%.

"The system will modernise the Indian Army units and strengthen the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem of the country," The ministry said in a statement.

In a disclosure to stock exchanges, state-owned BEL said the system has been designed and developed by the Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL), Hyderabad.

“Navratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has signed a contract with Ministry of Defence valued at Rs. 1251 Crore (excluding taxes) for supply of GBMES system to Indian Army,” the filing stated.

“The GBMES is a totally indigenous, state of the art system designed and developed by DLRL Hyderabad and manufactured by BEL,” it added.

The GBMES is a networked intelligence system capable of detecting, classifying and locating various types of radars. It can also intercept and analyse communication signals, enhancing situational awareness and strengthening the country’s air defence capabilities, the company added.

The contract is also seen as a boost to domestic defence manufacturing, in line with the government’s push for self-reliance under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative and the ‘Make in India’ programme championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.