The growing order books of the country's defence equipment manufacturers only reflect the strategy of the Indian government toward increased defence production in its Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
The country's leading defence industry, Bharat Electronics Limited, headquartered in Bengaluru, has an order book of Rs 75,934 crore. The second one is Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which caters mostly to orders from the Indian Air Force with secured orders worth Rs 38,561 crore. The Company is also eying technological advancement as it is likely to sign a deal with the US for producing advanced GE engines in HAL outlets.
The other major stakeholder in this area, Larsen & Toubro, has an order book valuation of Rs 94,000 crore. The powerful order books of these companies reflect their nimble ability to absorb demand for state-of-the-art defence technologies and cement their role in India's quest toward self-reliance.
The other notable players are Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Limited, which specializes in guided missile systems, and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, with present order books amounting to Rs 22,652 crore and Rs 22,000 crore, respectively. Astra Microwave follows with an order book position of Rs 1,956 crore, all set for expansion and a jump into the global market.
Companies such as Cochin Shipyard Limited, having orders of Rs 12,781 crore, and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited — MIDHANI — with Rs 5,129 crore worth of orders, are equally placed to move ahead.
The ambitious plan is to establish India as a significant defence exporter in the global defence market. On targets, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated and announced a record Rs 21,083 crore for defence exports in the current year, 2023-24, and aims to cross over Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29.
It is rightly pointed out that the spurt of investor confidence is reflected in share price rise as well as the market capitalisation of defence companies, reflecting high expectations and faith placed in the growth potential of the group.
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