L&T, Astra first beneficiaries of defence offsets

India’s new defence offset policy has started rolling with major private sector firms Larsen and Toubro and Hyderabad-based Astra defence software becoming the first beneficiaries.

The two firms were chosen by Israeli defence major Elta as offset partners after it was awarded a Rs 833.4-crore deal to supply medium range radars to the IAF.

“This is the first major defence procurement in which the government has enforced the offset clause,” Defence Production Secretary K P Singh told reporters here today. Without spelling out the details of the deal, Singh said Elta had agreed to plow Rs 250 crore as offsets into these two companies.

India’s new defence procurement policy incorporates a 30 per cent offset clause for all deals worth over Rs 300 crore.

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