Indian Army MoU with JCBL Group for ‘Vehicle Repair Hub & Warehouse’ at Leh

The Fire & Fury Corps of the Indian Army signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbornics Defence & Space Pvt Ltd (ADSL), part of JCBL Group, on October 16 for establishing a New Generation Vehicle (NGV) Repair Hub and Warehouse inside 14 Corps Zonal Workshop in Leh.

The initiative aims at boosting the army’s logistics readiness by setting up a dedicated OEM warehouse cum repair facility for New Generation Vehicles, inside the workshop premises of the Indian Army.

The MoU was signed at a ceremony held at Headquarters 14 Corps, Leh. 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla presided over the event on behalf of the Indian Army while Brig. Nipoon Sood, Brig EME, 14 Corps formally signed the MoU. The event was attended by senior officers of the formation, including the GoCs of the Divisions located in Ladakh.

On behalf of the JCBL Group, Raj Kumar Pandey (Director & CEO) and Col Rajwinder Singh (retd) (COO) were present at the ceremony. Representatives from other leading industrial groups including TASL, BFL, Polaris, JSW & MDSL also attended the event.

Under this collaboration JCBL Group (ADSL) will bring in its expertise of defence manufacturing, technical support, training, retro-modification and R&D know-how through the NGV Hub framework, established at Leh. The JCBL Group shall also maintain ready stocking of fast-moving spares for vehicles/ equipment supplied by it to the Indian Army. In addition, it shall also supply parts/ components of critical war like stores, which it supplies to the Ordnance & EME Channels of Indian Army, through its group companies in India and abroad.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen. Bhalla highlighted that this partnership between Indian Army and industry would significantly enhance the operational readiness of 14 Corps. He further stressed the need to ensure that army units fully exploit the presence of industry warehouses at these forward locations of Ladakh. In future the Indian Army plans to expand this presence of industry warehouses to three more forward locations of 14 Corps area of responsibility.

Managing director, JCBL Group, Rishi Aggarwal said “The JCBL Group takes pride in being the industry partner of the Indian Army. This fresh collaboration with the Fire and Fury Corps of the Northern Command is very special to the Group since it is the most operationally committed formation of the defence forces. We compliment Lt Gen. Hitesh Bhalla for his exceptional vision of incorporating the industry at field formation level thereby ensuring a significant amelioration of equipment availability and Operational readiness.”