Modi govt has placed Rs 36,000 crore worth order for Tejas aircraft: Officials

The Narendra Modi government has placed Rs 36,468 crore worth of order for 83 LCA Mk 1A Tejas aircraft from the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), official sources said on Saturday (November 25), as the prime minister visited the PSU and took a sortie in the fighter jet in Bengaluru.

The delivery of these Tejas aircraft is set to begin by February 2024, the sources said, adding that the government has taken major steps to increase India's defence preparedness and indigenisation.

The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2016. Currently, two IAF squadrons are fully operational with LCA Tejas.

More than Rs 9,000 crore has been sanctioned for the development of LCA Mk 2, an updated and more lethal version of LCA Tejas, the sources said.

To further promote indigenisation, including of the aircraft engine, the transfer of technology to manufacture the GE engine in India was negotiated with a US company during PM Modi's visit to the country in June.

(With agency inputs)