Rohan Ramesh

As India slowly inches towards self-sufficiency in the defence sector, the role of the defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) continues to be relevant. One of the companies that come to mind immediately is Bharat Earth Movers Limited or BEML.

BEML’s Medium Bullet-Proof vehicle

Incorporated in May 1964, BEML started its operations on 1 January 1965. It was one of the initiatives taken by the government to produce equipment needed by defence forces, in the aftermath of the disastrous 1962 war with China.

A mini-ratna category-1 company, BEML mainly manufactures a range of heavy-duty equipment such as vehicles that are used for earth moving, transport and mining. The manufacturing behemoth, which is Asia’s second-largest maker of earth-moving equipment, also makes a range of equipment for the defence sector. In fact, a substantial part of the heavy transport and haulage equipment used by the army comes from BEML.

The firm is actively involved in the manufacture of Tatra Trucks 12x12, 10x10, 8x8, 6x6, 4x4 & variants, Pontoon bridge systems, Ground support vehicles for guided missile programme, Heavy, medium and light recovery vehicles a