Post Op Sindoor, BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Gets A New Lease Of Life

BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL), which was losing importance following the setting up of a new unit at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, is getting a fresh lease of life. The unit, which is owned by BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL), a joint venture between India and Russia, is expected to be taken over by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). BAPL, headquartered in New Delhi has an integration complex in Hyderabad and production unit in Thiruvananthapuram. According to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, former IT Minister and BJP Kerala president, he has been assured that DRDO will take over BATL. This will bring BATL employees directly under the Central government structure and align the unit with the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission, which would not have been possible if it was functioning as a JV with a foreign entity. BATL was set up in 2007, with the Kerala government transferring Kerala Hi-Tech Industries (KELTEC), sitting on 15.8 acres of land near Thiruvananthapuram airport to the JV. The land had recently become a contentious issue following the expansion of the International airport. The Kerala government has now offered BATL 186 acres of land at Nettukalters near Neyyar Dam in Thiruvananthapuram, to relocate the unit.  The defence ministry is believed to be evaluating the proposal. BATL, is a jewel in Kerala’s industrialisation plan and the first defence unit in the state. BAPL took over KELTEC and converted it into a world class missile making unit in India. BAPL was set up in 1998 as a JV between DRDO (50.5%) and Mashinostroyenia (49.4%) Russia.