On February 3, 2021 the 6th India-Russia Military Industrial Conference(IRMIC) was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka. On this occasion, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) entered into an Offset Contract under invest in kind with Rosoboronexport, a Joint Stock Company(JSC) in Russia.
Purpose: To set up industrial facilities to manufacture a diverse range of aviation hoses at BEL Optronic Devices Limited, Pune, a subsidiary of BEL.
Note– The purpose of the contract is in accordance with the Make in India programme of Indian Government.
Key People
i.The contract documents were exchanged between Suresh Kumar K V, General Manager, Technology Planning, BEL and Vadim Belyaev, Deputy Head, Offset Division, JSC Rosoboronexport.
ii.The exchange was done in the presence of M V Gowtama, CMD, BEL, and Mrs Irina Ryazantseva, Coordinator, Offset Programmes.
Benefit of Implementing Offset project
i.BEL will obtain the following:
- State-of-the-art technology based on modern production and testing machinery that will be cost effective.
- Proven technological processes to manufacture certified high quality aviation hoses for all types of international standardized aircraft.
ii.Constant Demand for Aviation Hoses
When many aircraft of the Indian Air Force is actively operated, a constant demand for aviation hoses is created, which are consumables in nature
What are offsets Contract in defence?
The offset is an obligation by an international player to boost India’s domestic defence industry if India is buying defence equipment from it. Since defence contracts are costly, the government wants part of that money either to benefit the Indian industry, or to allow the country to gain in terms of technology.
The first offset contract was signed in 2007.
Recent Related News:
Centre is pushing the public-private partnership (PPP) under Make in India initiative to develop cutting edge ammunition technologies with 100% Indigenous Content for Defence sector to accomplish the ultimate goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
In this regard, on October 1, 2020, the Acquisition Wing of Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with private company Economic Explosive Ltd (EEL) for supply of 10,00,000 Multi Mode Hand Grenades to the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs. 409 Crores.
About Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL):
It is a navratna Public Sector Undertaking(PSU) under Ministry of Defence
Chairman and Managing Director– M V Gowtama
Headquarters– Bangalore Karnataka
About Rosoboronexport
Director General– Alexander A. Mikheev
Headquarters– Moscow, Russia
