Bharat Electronics Limited (NS:) (BEL) is a Navratna PSU under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It manufactures state-of-the-art electronic products and systems for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

BEL has also diversified into various areas like homeland security solutions, smart cities, e-governance solutions, space electronics including satellite integration, energy storage products including e-vehicle charging stations, solar, network & cyber security, railways & metro solutions, airport solutions, Electronic Voting Machines, telecom products, passive night vision devices, medical electronics, composites and software solutions. Civil focus does not need material Capex immediately: Medical equipment manufacturing, homeland security, automatic rolling gates for railways, smart cities are focus areas for BEL.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India, has signed 10 contracts worth Rs.5498 crores with Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited.

Air Force Projects:

a) EW Suite Equipment for Medium Lift Helicopter (90 Nos.) has been signed with BEL-Bangalore. It is indigenously designed and developed by the DRDO lab, Combat Aircraft Systems Development & Integration Centre (CASDIC). It comprises Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) and Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS) and will significantly enhance the combat-survivability of IAF helicopters while undertaking operational missions against adversaries — ground-based as well as airborne radars and heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missiles with effective countermeasures.

b) AMC for Akash Missile System has been signed for maintenance of two Squadrons with BEL-Bangalore. The Akash Missile System (AMS) is a medium- range, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, developed by DRDO and manufactured by BEL. AMS includes Surveillance Radar, Fire Control Radar, Control and Command Centre developed by BEL. The Akash Missile system can target aircrafts up to 30 km away and has the capabilities to neutralize aerial threats like fighter jets, cruise missiles and Air-to-Surface Missiles. It is fully integrated with C4I and equipped with ECCM features.

Army Projects:

a) Automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System (Project Akashteer) has been signed with BEL-Ghaziabad. It will enable monitoring of low-level airspace over the battle areas of the Indian Army and effectively control the Ground-Based Air Defence Weapon Systems.

b) Instant Fire Detection and Suppressing System (IFDSS) for T 72 has been signed with BEL-Kotdwara. IFDSS is indigenously designed by DRDO and will be manufactured by BEL-Kotdwara.

Navy Projects:

a) Software Defined Radio (SDR) (1265 Nos.) – Portables for the Indian Navy are the latest state-of-the-art radios which have been indigenously developed, jointly by DEAL (DRDO) and BEL. The SDR portables are developed in three configurations viz. SDR Manpack, SDR Fixed Pack and SDR hand-held, to meet the specific operational requirements of the Indian Navy. SDR Portables are new generation software defined radio that supports multi-band, multi-channel, multi role/ mission operation with voice/data to meet the needs of network-centric warfare of the Indian Navy. These radios are feature rich compact radios which provides the flexibility of enhancing the performance by implementation of futuristic waveforms on the same hardware using software programmability.

b) HDVLF HF Receiver (1178 Nos.) is a communication equipment, designed to receive and demodulate Data/Voice in VLF and HF Band of operation in the ships and submarines of the Indian Navy. The equipment incorporates advanced DSP technology with inbuilt high grade encryption. With induction of this state-of-the-art equipment, naval forces will be modernized for secure and higher data capability. The equipment is productionized by BEL-Panchkula with TOT from design agency DEAL DRDO Dehradun.

c) Sarang (12 Nos.) will be installed on Kamov 31 Helicopters of the Indian Navy which intercepts, detects and identifies the Radar emitters comprising state-of-the- art technologies. The project is indigenously designed and developed by DLRL and manufactured by BEL-Hyderabad.

d) Three more projects were signed with the Indian Navy – INS-SA, CMS for P17 & P28 and Varuna EW system.

All these are flagship projects showcasing the indigenous design and manufacturing capabilities of the Indian Defence industry led by BEL, involving other Public Sectors, Private Sectors and MSMEs. These projects will add another milestone to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’ and ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government of India.

BEL has equity of 7309.80 crore. BEL is currently available with a face value of INR 1.00. BEL paid a dividend of INR 2.70 to its shareholders during FY 2022-23. BEL yesterday’s close price was INR 130.65 and its EPS TTM FY 2022 is 4.25 and BEL is trading at a PE of 30.74. BEL 52 week high price was INR 133.25 and 52 week low price was INR 87.

BEL’s future looks very bright and if investors remain invested for long-term about 15 years then unlimited growth, EPS, dividend and bonus benefits may be observed. BEL may give a good return in the form of pension by way of dividend earning and unlimited future price which may reflect because of increase in a number of shares due to bonus. The investors may benefit more if they invest in a good quantity of BEL shares.