In line with the Centre’s Atmanirbhar Bharat push, the ministry of defence has signed two contracts worth ₹802 crore with homegrown players for the procurement of military equipment.
The first contract is for the procurement of Qty-697 Bogie Open Military (BOM) Wagons at ₹473 crore with Jupiter Wagons Ltd, while the other is for the procurement of Qty-56 Mechanical Minefield Marking Equipment (MMME) Mark II at ₹329 crore with BEML Ltd.
The equipment are being purchased under the buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
The defence ministry says BOM Wagons and MMME will be produced with equipment and sub-systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers. It will give a “boost to the indigenous manufacturing and participation of the private sector in defence production”.
BOM wagons, designed by Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO), are specialist wagons used by the Indian Army for the mobilisation of the Army units. Their main purpose is to transport light vehicles, artillery guns, BMPs, engineering equipment etc., from peacetime locations to operational areas.
“The critical rolling stock will ensure speedy and simultaneous induction of units and equipment into operational areas during any conflict situation besides, facilitating their peacetime movement for Military exercise and movement of units from one station to another,” says the defence ministry.
Marking of all minefields is a mandatory requirement as per amended protocol-II on convention in certain conventional weapons to which India is a signatory.
MMME has been designed to operate cross country with a complete load of stores and carry out marking of minefields with minimal time and manpower employment. The equipment is based on an in-service high mobility vehicle having advanced mechanical and electrical systems, which reduces the timings for minefields and enhances the Army’s operational capability.
Jupiter Wagons is a provider of comprehensive mobility solutions, with offerings across freight wagons, locomotives, passenger coaches (LHB), braking systems, metro coaches, commercial vehicles, ISO marine containers, and products such as couplers, draft gears, bogies and CMS crossings. JWL has manufacturing facilities in Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Indore and Jabalpur.
Shares of commercial vehicle maker Jupiter Wagons closed 4.39% at ₹331.60 on the BSE. The stock is currently trading 19.6% down as compared to the 52-week high of ₹412.50 touched on September 6, 2023. The company's current m-cap stands at ₹13,671.6 crore.
The latest contract with Jupiter Wagons comes merely 20 days after the company secured a landmark contract worth ₹1,617 crore with the ministry of railways.
Under the contract, the company will manufacture and supply 4,000 BOXNS wagons, classified as BG Bogie Open Wagon type, which wagons boast an axle load capacity of 25 tonnes. The wagons show a maximum speed of 86 kmph when empty and 45 kmph when loaded.
The government owns a 54.03% stake BEML, while the rest 44.97% is held by financial institutions, foreign institutional investors, banks, the public and employees.
Shares of BEML closed 2.64% up at ₹2,888.60 after surging to an intra-day high of ₹2,909.9 on the BSE. The stock is currently trading just 0.8% down compared to the 52-week high touched on December 27, 2023.
