Tatas, L&T shortlisted for Defence project

The Defence Ministry has shortlisted a consortium of Tata Power-Strategic Electronics Division (SED) and Larsen & Toubro for the battlefield management project, the order value of which in the production phase may be as much as Rs 50,000 crore.
As per the requirement of the procurement procedure, both the selected parties will -- after finalisation of the system specification -- be tasked with development of "prototype systems" for which purpose 80 per cent cost will be funded by the government, L&T said.
The expected amount involved in the development phase will be clear only after the system specifications have been finalised but is expected to be around Rs 800 crore, it said.

The total order value in the production phase could be between Rs 40,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore, it added.
"L&T formed a consortium lead by Tata Power-strategic electronics division... After an extensive evaluation of the different 'expressions of interest'...Two parties have been shortlisted as development agencies-one being the Tata Power-SED + L&T Consortium," L&T said in a filing to the BSE.
At the end of this development phase, which may spread over more than two to three years, the two independently developed prototype systems will be subjected to necessary evaluation and tests by the Defence Ministry, it said.