News Story: Indian Battlefield Management System Advances

NEW DELHI — The two consortia competing to provide India's new battlefield management system (BMS) have submitted their detailed project reports and the Defence Ministry will order prototypes within six months.

The proposed $6 billion system will be built in the "Make in India" category and reserved only for domestic companies. The two development agencies, Tata Power SED with Larsen & Toubro, and state-owned Bharat Electronics with Rolta India, submitted their detailed project reports last month, said a Defence Ministry source.

The reports will be vetted by the Army's Integrated Project Management Team and the MoD will then issue orders for development of the BMS prototypes within six months, said the MoD source, as effort is made to hasten creation of the system.

The development agencies will choose overseas partners for technical assistance but the tender will only be awarded to the domestic companies under the Make in India category.

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News Story: Indian Vehicle Program Hits Hurdle Over Company Selections

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's $11 billion Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) program faces hurdles after private domestic companies objected to the Defence Ministry's nomination of state-owned Ordnance Factory Board as one of the program's Development Agencies (DA).

The other DA's will be selected from among more than half a dozen competing private companies, and the MoD has extended the date of filing their bids to Feb. 16.

Under the Make India category, two DA's would be selected and the government would fund up to 80 percent of the prototypes. After trials, one of the DA's would be asked to produce the FICV.

When asked if the private companies endorse the nomination of OFB, Rajinder Bhatia, CEO of Bharat Forge, one of the competitors, said, "No comment. We hope this one-time exception and nomination would be discontinued as promised by the MoD."

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