Defence production has bounced back with internal numbers showing a sharp recovery in the second quarter as compared to first quarter as it was initially hit by lockdown.
Public sector units have doubled the value of production in all sectors—from shipbuilding to aviation and armament. Data available with the defence ministry shows that the value of production jumped from Rs 6,716 to Rs 12,268 crore in second quarter.
Both Public and private sector units form a bulk of the domestic defence production as private sector is also seeing a steady growth over the past few years. In the last financial year, over Rs 56,000 crore worth of work was done by PSUs while the private sector contributed Rs15,894 crore.
According to the internal data, OFB was among the hardest hit by the lockdown, with production dropping to Rs 650 crore in the first quarter from Rs 1,340 crore last year. Tasked with manufacturing a large chunk of ammunition and stores used by the armed forces, the OFB managed to get back on track in the second quarter, increasing production to Rs 1,643 crore.
HAL, which is the biggest defence PSU that makes helicopters and fighter jets, managed to keep production at steady levels even through the lockdown, dipping from Rs 3,107 crore in the first quarter last year to Rs 2,997 crore this year. However in the second quarter, the value of production has increased to Rs 4,432 crore.
Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), the second biggest defence PSU, saw numbers dip from Rs 2,116 crore to Rs 1,813 crore in the first quarter. In the second quarter, however, this has jumped to Rs 3,125 crore.
“We were hit initially for a month or two as workers were not able to come, but managed to get back on our feet quickly. The problem however has been that the entire supply chain had been disrupted, slowing work. This has now been sorted and if the government places orders, we are ready to execute them,” a senior DPSU official said.
