Article Posted on : - Mar 30, 2023

NEW DELHI (PTI): In line with its vision for self-reliance, the Defence Ministry on Wednesday signed signed three contracts – two with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and one with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) – worth nearly Rs 5,400 crore to bolster the defence capabilities of the country.

The first contract with BEL pertains to procurement of Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System, 'Project Akashteer', worth Rs 1,982 crore for the Indian Army, the Ministry said in a statement.

The second contract with BEL relates to acquisition of Sarang Electronic Support Measure (ESM) systems along with associated engineering support package from BEL, Hyderabad, at an cost of Rs 412 crore for the Indian Navy, it said.

"The contract with NSIL, a central Public Sector Enterprise under the Department of Space, Bengaluru, pertains to procurement of an advanced communication satellite, GSAT 7B, which will provide high throughput services to the Indian Army at an overall cost of Rs 2,963 crore.

"All these projects are under Buy {Indian - IDMM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured)} category," it added.

The Ministry said "in yet another boost to 'Aatmanirbharta' in defence", it has signed three contracts – two with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Ghaziabad and one with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) – "at a total cost nearly Rs 5,400 crore to bolster the defence capabilities of the country".

The 'Project Akashteer' will empower the air defence units of the Indian Army with an indigenous, state-of-the-art capability, to effectively operate in an integrated manner, it said.

Akashteer will enable monitoring of low level airspace over the battle areas of the Indian Army and effectively control the ground-based air defence weapon systems, it said.

Sarang is an advanced electronic support measure system for helicopters of the Indian Navy, designed and developed indigenously by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DERL), Hyderabad, under programme Samudrika, it said.

The scheme will generate an employment of approximately 2 lakh man-days over a period of three years, the statement said.

"Both the projects will encourage participation of Indian electronics and associated industries, including MSMEs, who are sub vendors of BEL," it said.

The advanced communication satellite will considerably enhance the communication capability of the Indian Army by "providing mission critical beyond line of sight communication to troops and formations as well as weapon and airborne platforms", it said.

The geostationary satellite, being a first-of-its-kind in the five-tonne category, will be developed indigenously by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Ministry said.

Many parts and sub-assemblies and systems will be sourced from indigenous manufacturers, including MSMEs and start-ups, thereby giving a fillip to the private Indian space industry, in line with the Prime Minister's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', it said.

The project will generate an employment of approximately three lakh man-days over a period of three-and-a-half years, it said.