Adani forms JV with Bulgarian Armaco JSC

Apart from Indian groups like Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharat Forge etc, Adani is a major group that is helping India become 'Aatmnirbhar' in the defence manufacturing sector.

New Delhi, Jan 24: Making India self-reliant in defence productions, several of Indian companies have started their defence manufacturing businesses. While some companies are on their own, the rest are in partnership with the global defence companies. The latest entry into the defence manufacturing sector is from the richest man of India, Gautam Adani, as his firm Adani Enterprise has formed a joint venture with Bulgarian Armaco JSC.

Now, apart from Indian groups like Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharat Forge etc, Adani is a major group that is helping India become 'Aatmnirbhar' in defence manufacturing. All these companies had made their foray into defence manufacturing long ago and Adani Enterprises will have to catch a lot.

Moreover, India's multi-million defence manufacturing programs have a lot of opportunities to offer and no company wants to miss it, Adani Enterprises' decision seems to be based on this factor as well.

Partnership with Bulgarian company

In its regulatory filing, Adani Enterprises has said that it has formed a joint venture with Bulgarian Armaco JSC with its subsidiary Agneya Systems Ltd (ASL). The partnership ratio for now is set at 14:11 where ASL holds 56% and the remaining 44% will be held by the Adani Group. For now, the company is registered and incorporated in Ahmedabad.

It's not clear what specific defence products are to be produced from the joint venture company, Adani Enterprises claims that they will be fulfilling the requirements for defence products from the Indian armed forces. The Bulgarian defence company is known for producing premium quality defence products that include mortars, pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles etc, amongst others.

Meeting demand from armed forces

Bulgarian Armaco JSC has also mastered the manufacturing of premium quality assault rifles, submachine guns, long range rifles, LMGs, air defence systems, anti-tank grenade launchers, multi-shot grenade launchers, etc. amongst others. It is expected that some of these products will be manufactured in India once the two companies start their production unit.

With the long history of producing arms and ammunition for defence forces from around the world, the Bulgarian defence company would contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' mission. The joint venture will also modernize the Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem that has been largely dependent on defence PSUs for decades.

At the same time, the joint venture could also enhance India's defence exports which has been catching up lately.