'Biggest Make in India deal': Govt formally seals Rs. 48,000 crore contract to procure 83 Tejas LCA from HAL
- IBEF
- February 4, 2021
On Wednesday, the Government of India officially concluded the "Biggest Make-in-India" agreement to purchase 83 Tejas light combat aircraft from the state-run aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. According to officials, this contract is regarded to be the first ever indigenous defence procurement initiative.
At the inaugural ceremony of the country's premier Defence and Aerospace exhibition, Aero India-2021, in Bengaluru, in the presence of Mr. Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence, The contract was awarded by Mr. V L Kantha Rao, Director General (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence, to Mr. R Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director of HAL.
Mr. Rajnath Singh said, “I am very pleased that HAL has issued orders for the production of 83 new Indian Air Force indigenous LCA (light combat aircraft) Tejas MK1A, worth more than Rs. 48,000 crore (US$ 6.58 billion). It is potentially the largest contract to date for Make in India Defence.”
Tejas, developed by HAL, is a single-engine, highly agile supersonic multi-role fighter aircraft designed to operate in high-threat air climates.
Last month, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, approved an agreement to purchase 73 Tejas Mk-IA and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-I trainer aircraft from HAL to improve the fighting prowess of the IAF.
In addition to visual range missile, electronic warfare suite and air-to-air refuelling, the Tejas Mk-IA will be configured with an active electronically scanned array radar.
Minister of Defence Singh inaugurated a new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru on Tuesday to double the output of Tejas.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the acquisition of the Tejas fleet would significantly boost the Indian Air Force's capabilities.
According to Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Mr. R Madhavan, The delivery of the Tejas aircraft to the IAF will commence in March 2024 and approximately 16 aircraft will be rolled out every year until the total supply of 83 jets is completed.
The aircraft's basic price will be about Rs. 25,000 crore (US$ 3.43 billion), while Rs. 11,000 crore (US$ 1.51 billion) will be used at the bases for ground support equipment and other necessary facilities, and ~ Rs. 7,000 crore (US$ 959.92 million) for basic customs duty and GST output.
The HAL chairman and managing director said that the value for each four-and-a-half-generation fighter version of the aircraft would be Rs. 309 crore (US$ 42.37 million) and Rs. 280 crore (US$ 38.40 million) for the trainer version.
The overall cost of ~ Rs. 48,000 crore (US$ 6.58 billion) includes the cost of design and production of ~ Rs. 2,500 crore (US$ 342.83 million) to be given to the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and ~ Rs. 2,250 crore (US$ 308.55 million) set aside for foreign currency exchange rate variations.
From February 3-5, Aero India, recognised as the largest defence and aerospace exhibition in Asia, will be conducted in Bengaluru.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
Partners
