Latest news with #YantraIndiaLimited
Time of India
10-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
In 4 months, bomb exports from Nagpur touch halfway mark of last fiscal
1 2 Nagpur: It's barely four months into the current financial year, and exports of war material like bombs, shells, rockets, grenades and other projectiles from Nagpur units have reached half of what was shipped out last fiscal in terms of value. By August, bombs and shells worth as much as Rs452 crore have been exported from units in Nagpur which recorded exports worth Rs940 crore under this category during the entire last fiscal. This is over and above the exports of prepared explosives, which include high-energy material like TNT, HMX and RDX, which are later filled into shells. This year, more than Rs60 crore of prepared explosives have been exported so far. Last year, over Rs 628 crore of prepared explosives were shipped out from the units in Nagpur, according to the data compiled by the ministry of commerce. It's strong demand from European countries that is fast swelling the order books. Lately, even export licences are coming fast as compared to a long-drawn process earlier. The requirement following Operation Sindoor that exporters must ensure there is no demand for a similar product by the Indian armed forces, has also been done away with now, said sources in the business. Nagpur has two major players in the segment, Yantra India Limited (YIL), a public sector entity formed in 2021, and Solar Group, a private company. Lately, Nagpur has emerged as a major destination for ammunition buyers. The global buyers are procuring both finished ammunition rounds and bombs as well as prepared explosives, said sources. Even Chandrapur, around 150 km away, has recorded major exports. Bombs worth over Rs 228 crore have been exported from Chandrapur district so far this fiscal. This accounts for 27% of the exports in the last financial year. In 2024-25, bombs worth Rs 840 crore were exported from Chandrapur. The Ordnance Factory Chanda located in Chandrapur is a part of Munitions India Limited (MIL), a Pune-based defence PSU. It is engaged in making shells, Pinaka rockets, apart from a whole gamut of mines and related products. The total exports of finished bombs from Vidarbha, which includes the manufacturing centres in Nagpur and Chandrapur, stand at Rs650 crore till August. Last financial year, exports worth Rs1,780 crore took place, according to the ministry of commerce data. Last year, apart from bombs, other cartridges worth Rs 250 crore were exported. Other cartridges include a wider range of ammunition not under the bombs category, said sources. Even Jabalpur in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh recorded bomb exports worth Rs 3.4 crore. Dushyant Deshpande, secretary of Vidarbha Defence Industries Association (VIDA), said strong demand from European countries has helped not only the bigger units but also the ancillary manufacturers. "A year-on-year growth of close to 50% is expected this fiscal," he said. Sandeep Agrawal of Sandeep Metallics, a company engaged in making fuses for artillery shells, said orders are full till 2031. Fuse helps in triggering the blast. "Export permissions are coming within 15 days or so, and the condition that the export order should not overlap with Indian demand is also no longer there," Agrawal said. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Biting the bullet: Big ammo needed, no pressure on cartridge makers
Nagpur: If emergency buttons were pressed at ordnance factories like Khamaria and Chandrapur, where larger calibre ammunition and bombs are made, units making bullets continue to operate below capacity. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now There's more scope to scale up the production of small calibre rounds like the 5.56 mm or 7.26 mm, which go into rifles. Even after entirely meeting orders for the armed forces, over 25% of the capacity of these units remains unutilised. And there's no panic in YIL because it has already dispatched its quarterly quota of cartridges and shells of all types of rounds to Pune-based PSU — Munitions India Limited (MIL). Since there is no pending work at Yantra, no emergency measures like cancellation of leaves have been taken, said senior officials here. Bullets are not required in a full-blown war, said a defence expert. There is a huge global demand for larger ammunition, especially the 155 mm artillery shells, keeping the machines engaged. However, there are not many exports of the smaller ammunition, even as factories are keen to utilise the idle capacity, said officials here. The empties are made by Yantra India Limited (YIL) and its factories are spread across eight locations. The small calibre rounds are made in two of the units. YIL makes empties of a whole gamut of rounds ranging from bullets to artillery, tank shells, and even rockets. These are filled with explosives and finally delivered to the armed forces by Pune-based PSU — Munitions India Limited (MIL). Two factories at Khamaria and Chandrapur, where leaves have been cancelled, come under MIL. After the corporatisation of the ordnance factories, the process of making ammunition has been split between two independent corporations. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now YIL makes the empties and other mechanical items, and MIL fills them up with explosives to complete the ammunition. As corporations, each of the PSUs has to achieve profitability. As much as 90% of YIL's orders come from MIL. Yantra India Limited (YIL), which is diversifying into other sectors, has cleared plans to set up an additional unit to make railway axles. The factory is already utilising its capacity to make axles. The board has approved plans for the new plant, entailing a capital expenditure of Rs 60 crore.
