Rs 25,000 crore work share for private sector firms in HAL’s mega 156 combat helicopter deal | India News – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: After bagging the most important-ever order for Gentle Combat Helicopters (LCH), Hindustan Aeronautics Restricted (HAL) is opening its doorways huge to the private sector, providing contracts price Rs 25,000 crore as half of its new manufacturing push.
With the Cupboard Committee on Safety clearing the huge Rs 62,500 crore deal on Friday, HAL and the Ministry of Defence signed the settlement the identical day for 156 LCHs for the Indian Military and Air Drive. This transfer indicators a serious shift in direction of constructing a extra strong and self-reliant defence industrial base, officers stated.
“We’re going to comply with the Gentle Combat Plane manufacturing mannequin in this programme as properly,” defence officers informed ANI. “The HAL would quickly be issuing tenders for involving the private sector in a giant approach in the Gentle Combat Helicopter (LCH) undertaking.”
HAL had earlier outsourced important parts of its Gentle Combat Plane (LCA) undertaking—elements like fuselage and wings had been constructed by firms equivalent to Larsen & Toubro and Vem Applied sciences. An analogous mannequin is now being adopted for the LCH programme, with round 40% of the Rs 62,500 crore work anticipated to be outsourced to private firms.
Officers stated the transfer is aimed not simply at dashing up manufacturing but in addition at deepening the home defence ecosystem. The helicopters can be manufactured at HAL’s amenities in Bengaluru and Tumkur, Karnataka.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was not too long ago current on the handover of the primary rear fuselage for the LCA Mk1A, constructed by Alpha Tocol Engineering Companies Pvt Ltd, a milestone that marks rising confidence in private trade’s capabilities.
HAL, India’s largest aerospace agency, at present holds an order ebook of over Rs 2 lakh crore, together with orders for 83 LCA jets (10 of that are trainers) and 12 Su-30 fighter plane. The agency additionally expects contemporary orders price over Rs 70,000 crore in the close to future.
With this mega outsourcing plan, HAL is betting large on the private sector to drive India’s push in direction of defence self-reliance—and scale back overseas dependence for good.