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Armoured vehicles from Tata Motors
likely
1 May, 2007
The Tatas, soon after the roll out
of their Rs 1 lakh car, is all set to
make a splash in the heavy vehicle
segment in a big way. With a slew of
muscular offerings on the anvil, the
company has started a programme for
the production of armoured vehicles
for Indian and global military
markets, said a report.
Armoured vehicles for troops and
personnel transportation being mulled
over, but kept a secret as of now, are
likely to see Tata Motors make a
sizeable investment on this front. As
an existing supplier of trucks for the
military, Tata Motors' entry into the
armoured vehicle segment is seen by
analysts as a logical move to be part
of the Indian government's efforts to
broadbase defence procurement from the
private sector as also tap the
burgeoning demand internationally, the
report has pointed out.
There is talk that the vehicle maker
would most probably work with the
Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO). This, was because
future supplies will have to be
certified by DRDO before firm orders
are executed. The DRDO in the meanwhile
has also relaxed norms by setting
aside a corpus to fund the private
sector as well.
The report added that the Novus truck,
developed by Tata Motors’ Korean
acquisition called Tata Daewoo
Commercial Vehicle Ltd, is likely to
be developed as an armoured troop
carrier. With the company going into
significant in-house research on
armoured vehicle technology, the
company’s existing and future truck
platforms would be the framework for
entering the defence market, the
report added.
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