The Indian government has signed defence contracts worth Rs. 41.06 bn with two public sector undertakings for a dedicated communication satellite for the Indian Air Force and heavy-weight torpedoes for the Indian Navy. The agreements are intended to strengthen domestic defence manufacturing and improve self-reliance in critical technologies.

The contracts were signed in New Delhi in the presence of A. Anbarasu, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) in the Department of Defence. The first agreement, valued at Rs. 25.63 bn, was awarded to Bengaluru-based NewSpace India (NSIL), the wholly owned commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for the GSAT-7C communication satellite.

The GSAT-7C has been designed, developed and manufactured in India. According to the Defence Ministry, the satellite will provide secure, resilient and seamless communication capabilities for Indian Air Force assets, supporting operational effectiveness across the service.

The second contract, worth Rs. 15.43 bn, was signed with Hyderabad-headquartered Bharat Dynamics (BDL) for Varunastra heavy-weight torpedoes. BDL is a public sector defence enterprise under the administrative control of the Defence Ministry and manufactures guided missile systems, underwater weapons and related equipment for the armed forces.

Varunastra was developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL). The indigenous, ship-launched anti-submarine torpedo has advanced manoeuvring capabilities and is designed to engage enemy submarines at long ranges, strengthening the Indian Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capability.

The contracts follow the Defence Acquisition Council’s (DAC) approval on September 7, 2026, of an Acceptance of Necessity for various defence acquisition proposals. The proposals were estimated at Rs. 1.1 tn and were approved under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.