The contract for five ground-based mobile electronic systems comes with a 72% local content mandate, a boost for indigenous defence manufacturing.
Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed a ₹12.51 billion contract (excluding taxes) with the Ministry of Defence to supply five ground-based mobile electronic systems to the Indian Army.
The deal, inked on May 5 in New Delhi under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category, requires at least 72% indigenous content.
The systems, designed by the Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) in Hyderabad and manufactured by BEL, will detect, classify and locate enemy radars while intercepting communication signals. (The Ministry’s announcement valued the contract at ₹14.76 billion, including taxes.)
The Navratna PSU already dominates military electronics, but the push for 72% local content – and the IDDM tag – signals that the army is moving away from imported systems. The order also strengthens BEL’s order book, already swollen with deals for air defence radars and electronic warfare suites.
Until now, the army relied on a mix of older Israeli and indigenous systems for electronic intelligence. The new system, fully Indian in design, upgrades both detection range and mobility. It also ties into a larger push: the defence ministry has steadily raised indigenous content thresholds, forcing PSUs and private firms alike to build local supply chains.
The contract pushed the stock up nearly 1% to ~₹440 per share in early trade today.
