Bengaluru, Feb 19 (IANS) India's leading industrial house Kalyani group is setting up a joint venture with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd near Hyderabad in Telangana to manufacture missiles, remote weapon systems and advanced armour solutions.
"The joint venture (JV) is in line with the government's 'Make in India' policy to indigenise development and production of defence equipment," Kalyani chairman and managing director Baba Kalyani told reporters here Thursday.
The 51:49 JV will have the technology transferred from Rafael to manufacture Spike missiles for the Indian armed forces and for which the government is slated float a tender soon.
"This is one of the first JV in the defence sector after the NDA government increased the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in defence to 49 percent from 26 percent in July 2014," B.N. Kalyani said on the margins of the Aero India 2015 trade expo at the Yelahanka base of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the city's outskirts.
The multiple-utility missiles will be supplied to the Hyderabad-based state-run Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) for integrating with weapon systems of the three Indian defence services.
"The JV will also manufacture weapons systems and advanced armour solutions for Indian and subsequently global customers of Rafael," Kalyani said on the occasion, but did not disclose the proposed investment by both partners.
The group has set up a special vehicle purpose for the JV, to be christened soon, with modular production capacity to scale it up on securing orders proportionately.
"We see Kalyani Group as an ideal partner to expand our business opportunities in India, where we have been engaged with the defence ministry and state-run enterprises like BDL and BEL (Bharat Electronics Ltd)," Rafael chief executive Vice Admiral (retd.) Yadida Yaari said on the occasion.
As a multinational conglomerate with high technology, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, the $2.5-billion diversified Kalyani group is present in engineering steel, automotive, industrial, renewable energy, urban infrastructure and specialty chemicals.
The $2.1-billion Rafael, which designs, develops, manufactures and supplies a range of high tech defence systems for air, land, sea and space applications, was set up as part of the Israeli ministry of defence over seven decades ago.
"We have an order backlog of $4.3 billion for delivering products according to the soldiers specific requirements in the battlefield," Rafael chairman Brigadier General Itzhak Ghat (retd) said in a statement here.
As Israel's second largest defence firm, Rafael offers its global customers an array of innovative products ranging from underwater systems through naval, ground and air superiority systems to space systems.
COVID-19: China's warning - Corona cases may increase again this month, claims in the report
Corona cases have been comparatively less in China since the New Year, but now the Chinese government has warned that the cases of coronavirus infection may increase this month. China's government
Taliban Government: International criticism does not affect the Taliban, women are also excluded from the list of deputy ministers
Wow... Bihar Police! Poisonous liquor was made from the spirit kept in the police station, who is responsible for 53 deaths?
The negligence of the police administration is coming to the fore in the death due to spurious liquor in Saran. There is a possibility of using the seized spirit in the police station to make
Earthquake in Himachal: Tremors were felt in Chamba's Churah, 3.4 intensity on the reactor scale, people came out of their homes
Earthquake tremors were felt in Himachal Pradesh on Friday night. Whose center was Churah of Chamba district? The earthquake measured 3.5 on the Richter scale. The effect of this earthquake was also
Sale of Nokia G11 Plus begins, know the price of this smartphone with 50MP camera, everything from specifications to offers
Nokia G11 Plus Sale: Nokia G11 Plus smartphone is now available for sale in India. A few days ago the company launched this phone in India. This Nokia smartphone will be made available for sale
Delhi Metro, CISF launch new safety initiative
New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) The Delhi Metro and the CISF Tuesday launched a new safety programme under which the regular commuters of the service will be asked to act as the 'eyes and ears' of the
'Please don't do this', Sonu Nigam was stoned, and students started throwing bottles and stones at the singer during the concert.
Music world's veteran singer Sonu Nigam often comes into limelight for some reason or the other. Along with his songs, many times his concerts are also in the news. Recently, during a concert, the
Kapil Sharma: MNS warns Kapil Sharma, says stop calling Mumbai 'Bombay' in your show, else there will be protests
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Thursday warned comedian Kapil Sharma not to call Mumbai 'Bombay' or 'Bambai' in his show. It said that if he does not stop doing so, then a movement will be
A special day in cruise drugs case: Aryan's bail application will be decided at 2.45 pm, Khan is behind bars for 13 days
The cruise will come after 2.45 pm today on the bail application of Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, accused in the drugs party case. In today's hearing, Aryan's case is listed at number 19.
After the decision of the Supreme Court on EWS Reservation, there is competition in many states to increase the reservation limit.
Reservation has been a burning issue in our country. The provision of the reservation made for socio-economic and political progress has at present only become a means of fulfilling political