JSW Group forays into defence sector with acquisition of majority stake in extreme off-road vehicle firm Gecko Motors

JSW Group has announced its entry into the defence sector with the establishment of a new business vertical, JSW Defence and Aerospace (JSW Defence) to capitalise on the Union government’s Make in India initiatives.

JSW Group has announced its entry into the defence sector with the establishment of a new business vertical, JSW Defence and Aerospace (JSW Defence) to capitalise on the Union government’s Make in India initiatives.

Making a head start, JSW Defence has acquired a majority stake in an extreme off-road vehicle company, Gecko Motors Private Ltd., which is now renamed as JSW Gecko Motors Pvt Ltd (JSW Gecko), for an unspecified amount.

The company, promoted and led by Jaskirat Singh Nagra, has secured an order worth ₹250 crore from the Indian Army for the manufacture and supply of 96 Specialist Mobility Vehicles (SMVs), branded as ATOR N1200, which will be showcased at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2024.

This order is currently under manufacturing at JSW Gecko’s newly set-up manufacturing unit in Chandigarh and will be supplied to the Armed Forces before June 2024.

Parth Jindal, Director, JSW Group in a statement said “At $73.8 billion, India as a country has an extremely large defence budget. By 2030 the Indian defence budget is likely to grow to $200 billion. Capital outlay forms a very large part of the defence budget and it is here, we at JSW see a big opportunity. 

“As part of our strategic focus, we are actively pursuing partnerships with global players & Indian start-ups to introduce the latest military technology across multiple defence equipment segments. Our endeavour shall be to bring in niche technologies to fill in the capability gaps of Indian Armed Forces and partner with our soldiers in the line of combat,” he added.

JSW Defence has appointed Commodore Madhu Gentela (Retd) to lead the Group’s Defence business.