New Delhi: JSW Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates Thursday announced its entry into the defence and aerospace sector with the acquisition of extreme off-road vehicle company, Gecko Motors Private Limited which has bagged a Rs 250 crore Army order.
It also announced the establishment of a new business vertical, JSW Defence and Aerospace (JSW Defence).
Gecko Motors Private Limited, now renamed as JSW Gecko Motors Pvt Ltd (JSW Gecko) was promoted by its founders led by Jaskirat Singh Nagra had last year secured an Army order for the manufacture and supply of 96 Specialist Mobility Vehicles (SMVs), branded as ATOR N1200.
It is the Indian version of the SHERP N-1200 amphibious all-terrain vehicle (AATV) produced by Quadro International based in Ukraine, Dubai and Turkey.
“This order is currently under manufacture at JSW Gecko’s newly set-up manufacturing unit in Chandigarh, Punjab and will be supplied to the Armed Forces no later than June 2024,” the company said in a statement.
JSW Defence has appointed Commodore Madhu Gentela (Retd), NM, an ex-Naval officer with over 30 years’ experience in military technology, to lead the Group’s Defence business.
JSW Gecko has roped in Lt General Raj Jagga who retired as DG Mech Forces as a strategic advisor to its Board. Col S Pandit who has close to 20 years of experience in Land Mobility Systems has been roped in as a consultant to the business venture.
Parth Jindal, scion of the JSW Group said, “At $73.8 Billion, India as a country has an extremely large defence budget. By 2030 the Indian defence budget is likely to grow to $200Bn. Capital outlay forms a very large part of the defence budget and it is here, we at JSW see a big opportunity”.
The company said that in the long term, JSW Defence envisions to not only supply state-of-the-art equipment to the Indian Armed Forces but also intends to establish itself as a key player at the international stage and contribute to India’s ambition to become a USD 5 billion defence export economy.
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