India's Reliance Infra to invest $1.2 bln for ammunition project

Reliance Infrastructure

22/10/2024 14:38

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Indian industrialist Anil Ambani's
Reliance Infrastructure  RLIN.NS  said on Tuesday it will invest
100 billion rupees ($1.19 billion) over the next ten years on a
project to produce explosives, ammunition and small arms.
        India, which counts the Tata Group, the Adani Group and
Larsen & Toubro as major private defence manufacturers, has been
pushing to increase domestic production of defence equipment,
with exports hitting an all-time high of 210.83 billion rupees
in the previous fiscal year.
    Reliance Infra will set up the project in the western state
of Maharashtra and is aiming for potential joint ventures with
six global defence companies, the company said in an exchange
filing, without giving any further details.
    It currently operates JVs with French defence firms Dassault
Aviation  AM.PA  and Thales  TCFP.PA . The JVs export to
countries such as France, and their products include engine
doors for the Rafale fighter jet.
    Reliance Infra, whose units already have licences from the
government to make arms and ammunition, has exported defence
equipment worth more than 10 billion rupees over an unspecified
period.

($1 = 84.0460 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
 ((Manvi.Pant@thomsonreuters.com; +918447554364;))