Bharat Forge is contributing significantly to augmenting India’s manufacturing capabilities in the defence and aerospace sector. Neelesh Tungar, Chief Operating Officer, Defence and Aerospace, and Guru Biswal, Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace Business Division of Bharat Forge, spoke to Raksha Anirveda, on a wide range of issues. Excerpts…

Bharat Forge, the flagship company of Kalyani Group, is a credible name in the defence manufacturing and innovation industry. It has established itself as a renowned manufacturer and supplier of forged and precision-machined critical components and sub-assemblies that are widely used in high-performance engines, aerospace applications, and defence systems.

Since venturing into the defence and aerospace sector in the early 1990s, Bharat Forge has been continuously playing a vital role in enhancing India’s defence manufacturing capabilities, making the nation more self-reliant in defence production and technology. The company’s commitment to quality, innovation, persistence, and long-term planning has positioned it as a significant contributor to India’s “Aatmanirbharta in Defence” initiative. Bharat Forge has endeavoured to overcome innovation bottlenecks in the country and develop high-level technology by creating defence products, thereby helping India secure a significant place in the global market.

Bharat Forge has emerged as a leading supplier of various components, including airframe, structural and engine parts for the aviation sector. The company is well-known for its manufacturing capabilities of aircraft compressors, turbines, and fan blades in India.

In a recent interaction with Raksha Anirveda, Neelesh Tungar, Chief Operating Officer, Defence and Aerospace, and Guru Biswal, Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace Business Division of Bharat Forge, shared valuable insights into the company’s progress in the defence sector. They discussed how the government’s policy is helping Bharat Forge leverage indigenous technology to its optimum potential.

When asked about Bharat Forge’s experience at Aero India 2023, Neelesh Tungar responded, “It was quite hectic given the fact that the large number of delegations had come to the Aero Show. It was a very engaging show. The inaugural was impressive and the meetings with delegations very useful.”

Speaking on the Make in India program, he added, “Make in India has finally arrived. The government has taken a number of steps in this direction and it has been successful. We have seen the difference in the way people have approached us. Earlier, we used to approach people who wanted to do business. We have shown our strength in terms of technology. We have a strategic partnership in the country and that is a major change. The changes that we have seen in the last couple of years since the Aatmanirbhar Bharat policy, have been very encouraging.”

Joining in the conversation, Guru Biswal, CEO– Aerospace Business Division said, “Aerospace has been one of the major areas of our business. It takes more time and needs plenty of resilience. India has always had the expertise but somewhere we were not able to go beyond the military sector. Now, we as a company have gone beyond the military market and are also in the commercial sector. We supply critical Indian components in fully finished condition to giants such as Rolls Royce and Honeywell.”

Questioned about the future of Bharat forge in the aerospace sector, they promptly responded, “We have small indigenous engines. We don’t want to compete with larger players but only want to complement them. Our intention is that wherever we see weakness in the industry, we would like to focus on that so that we can complement the efforts of the bigger companies and the Government of India in the present ecosystem.”

Neelesh Tungar observed, “Previously, people came to India for our labour, but now they come for technology and the demographic dividend that the country provides.” Guru Biswal added, “We as a company want to create capabilities and I think that is the strength of our company. We create capabilities not for a specific but for multiple purposes. We are creating a system so that wherever there is a deficiency, it can be rectified.”

Bharat Forge’s Aero India 2023 participation concluded on a promising note as it signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Paramount Group for the development and production of Composite Rotor Blades, Mission Systems, and Stores Management Systems for Medium Lift Helicopters, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Saarloha Advanced Materials for the development and production of aerospace grade steel alloys and Roll-Royce for the supply of aero engine components.

With its unwavering dedication to engineering excellence and innovation, Bharat Forge is confidently making strides as a prominent player with a strong foothold in the global defence and aerospace market.