The Defence Ministry signed a Rs 409 crore contract with a Nagpur-based private firm for the supply of 10 lakh ‘multi-mode’ hand grenades. This is the first such contract to be inked with a domestic private company as traditionally, such ammunition products were either imported or made by the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
“Providing a further boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Government of India in the Defence Sector, Acquisition Wing of Ministry of Defence (MoD) today signed a contract with M/s Economic Explosive Ltd (EEL), (Solar Group) Nagpur for the supply of 10,00,000 Multi-Mode Hand Grenades to the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs. 409 Crores. These grenades will be replacing the hand grenade design of World War-II vintage, in use with the Indian Army,” the defence ministry said in a release.
The Multi-Mode Hand Grenade has been designed by DRDO/Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratories (TBRL) and is being produced by M/s EEL, Nagpur. The Grenades have a distinctive design, in that, they can be used in both Offensive and Defensive Modes.
This is a flagship project showcasing public-private partnership under the aegis of Government of India (DRDO & MoD) enabling “AtmaNirbharta” in cutting edge ammunition technologies and accomplishes 100% Indigenous Content.
This project has been hanging fire since 2011 because the same grenades made by the OFB repeatedly failed to clear DGQA (directorate general of quality assurance) tests. It was finally approved by the Defence Acquisitions Council in March 2019, with the contract being inked on Thursday.
