New Delhi: Indian conglomerate JSW Group on Thursday announced its strategic entry into the defence sector with the establishment of a new business vertical that would focus both on the domestic and overseas markets.
The JSW Defence and Aerospace (JSW Defence) would not only supply state-of-the-art equipment to the Indian Armed Forces but also intends to establish itself as a key player at the global stage and contribute to India's ambition to become a USD 5 billion defence export economy, the company said.
It said JSW Defence, in its very first venture, has acquired a majority stake in an extreme off-road vehicle company, Gecko Motors Private Ltd, now renamed as JSW Gecko Motors Pvt Ltd (JSW Gecko).
The company promoted by its founders led by Jaskirat Singh Nagra has secured an order worth Rs 250 crore from the defence ministry for supply of 96 specialist mobility vehicles (SMVs), branded as ATOR N1200, it said.
The ATOR N1200 is an indigenised version of the SHERP N1200 amphibious extreme mobility vehicle, designed by UK-based Copato Ltd.
Copato has entered into a joint venture agreement with JSW Defence and JSW Gecko along with technology supply licence agreement for the manufacture of specialist mobility vehicles in India with a vision to make the country a global production hub for this product, the JSW Group said in a statement.
"At USD 73.8 billion, India as a country has an extremely large defence budget. By 2030, the Indian defence budget is likely to grow to USD 200 billion. Capital outlay forms a very large part of the defence budget and it is here, we at JSW see a big opportunity," said Parth Jindal of JSW Group.
JSW Group is known for bringing world class products and services to India and "we would like to extend this very ethos to the defence vertical as well", he said.
"Moreover, JSW Group's entry into the defence business reciprocates the Indian government's confidence of providing impetus through the private sector's participation in building indigenous defence capabilities," Jindal said.
"In line with our strategy, our first product, ATOR N1200 specialist mobility vehicles being manufactured for the Indian Army, is an Indian adaptation of the amphibious all-terrain SHERP N1200," he added.
This vehicle, Jindal said, is designed to navigate all types of terrains in extreme weather conditions and that it has proven its capability from the arid deserts of Rajasthan to the tortuous creeks and mudflats of Bhuj and Rann of Kutch to the rugged mountainous terrain in sub-zero temperatures.
"The ATOR shall provide significant advantages to the Indian Army in its operations," he said.
Jindal said JSW Defence's endeavour will be to bring in niche technologies to fill in the "capability gaps" of Indian Armed Forces and partner with the soldiers in the line of combat.
Jaskirat Singh Nagra said, "We saw a great opportunity for extreme mobility vehicles in the Indian market."
"We were very keen to have a strategic partner who could help us grow our business and at the same time support our R&D efforts to design and develop new extreme mobility products for India and the world," he said.
JSW Defence has appointed Commodore Madhu Gentela (retd), who is former naval officer with over 30 years' experience in military technology, to lead the Group's defence business.
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