Shares of state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) rose over 2% in opening trade on Thursday after it received a ₹2,463 crore contract from the Ministry of Defence. The contract is for the supply and services of Ashwini Radars to the Indian Air Force. With this latest contract, BEL's total order inflow for the current financial year touched ₹17,030 crore.

Cheering the news, BEL share price climbed as much as 2.4% to ₹283.50 in the first hour of trade so far, while its market capitalisation climbed to ₹2.05 lakh crore. The PSU stock has risen 8% in a month, while it lost nearly 4% in the calendar year 2025.

At the current level, the defence stock is down 57% from its 52-week high of ₹340.35 touched on July 10, 2024, while it is up 58% from its 52-week low of ₹179.20 hit on March 15, 2024.

"Navratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), has signed a contract with Ministry of Defence valued at ₹2,463 Crore (excluding taxes) for supply and services of Ashwini Radars," it said in a stock exchange filing.

The release noted that these fully indigenous Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars have been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and BEL. The Ashwini Radars feature integrated Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems with electronic scanning in azimuth and elevation, enabling 4D surveillance.

“These mobile radars, equipped with advanced Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) capabilities, can be deployed across various terrains and automatically detect and track aerial targets, including fighter jets and slow-moving objects,” the release noted.

Earlier this week, BEL had bagged orders worth ₹843 crore. The latest orders include RF seekers, vessel and air traffic management systems, radar upgradation, electro-optic repair facilities, spares, and services.

On March 5, the company said that it secured additional orders worth ₹577 crore since the last disclosure on 20 February 2025. The major orders include airborne electronic warfare products, advanced composite communication system for submarine, doppler weather radar, train communication system, radar upgradation, spares, services etc.

Last week, the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on March 5, 2025, declared interim dividend of ₹1.50 per equity share of ₹1 each fully paid up (150%) for the financial year 2024-25. The interim dividend will be paid within 30 days from the date of declaration.

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