New Delhi, May 5 (IANS). The Defense Ministry on Tuesday signed a contract worth Rs 1,476 crore with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Hyderabad, for the procurement of five ground-based mobile electronic systems for the Indian Army, with at least 72 per cent indigenous content.
The contract, awarded under the ‘Procurement (Indian Indigenous Design, Development and Manufacture)’ category, was signed in the presence of Defense Secretary Kumar Singh at Dutva Bhavan in the national capital.
BEL manufactures state-of-the-art indigenous ground-based mobile electronic systems for the Indian Army, focusing on Electronic Warfare (EW), surveillance and secure tactical communications.
According to the Defense Ministry statement, this system will modernize the Indian Army units and also strengthen the country’s indigenous defense manufacturing ecosystem. This agreement further strengthens the commitment of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government towards self-reliant India and ‘Make in India’ initiative.
A ground-based mobile electronic system is a vehicle-mounted electronic intelligence platform designed to detect, analyze, and monitor enemy radar and electronic signals in real-time. They generally have features such as high-sensitivity receivers, 360-degree coverage and 3D mapping, allowing rapid assessment of battlefield conditions.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the government has kept defense research at the center of its priorities and the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has so far transferred 2,200 technologies to various industries.
Addressing the North Tech Symposium organized by the Indian Army, he said that to be future ready in the rapidly changing technological world, it is extremely important to continuously focus on research and maintain the element of surprise.
He said that 25 per cent of the Defense Research and Development budget has been earmarked for industry, academic institutions and startups and so far these institutions have utilized more than Rs 4,500 crore.
He said the government’s self-reliance efforts are yielding positive results, with the country’s defense production reaching a record high of Rs 1.54 lakh crore in the financial year 2025-26, while defense exports have reached an all-time high of Rs 38,424 crore.
–IANS
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