In line with the Prime Minister’s initiative on self-reliance ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, BEML has taken some significant steps to push the boundaries of indigenous products and technologies. The public sector equipment major has launched a range of advanced mining and defence equipment those are designed and developed indigenously. These include the BH150E 150 ton dump truck, BE1800E 180 ton electrical excavator, BD50HST heli-portable dozer, and medium bullet-proof vehicle (MBPV) ‘GAUR’. At the virtual launch ceremony, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the defence public sector units and said that this would propel us towards our goal of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. He added, “Among the BEML products, the 150 ton electric dump truck and BE1800E 180 ton super giant electrical excavator built with swadeshi technology will cater to the requirements of the mining industry. The medium bullet proof vehicle ‘Gaur’ is an extremely useful product that is worth mentioning.” While presenting these products to the Defence Minister, Dr Deepak Kumar Hota, Chairman and Managing Director, BEML said, “At a time when the government is promoting ‘Atmanirbharata’, BEML is leading the way by introducing indigenously designed and developed products that will not only contribute to the country’s GDP, but also ensure savings of precious foreign exchange. These products re-emphasize BEML’s commitment towards ‘Make in India’ and self-reliance.” The ‘swadeshi’ products The BH150E 150 ton electric dump truck is India’s first electric drive rear dump truck. This product possesses significant features like high power performance, enhanced productivity, exceptional manoeuvrability, and superior operator comfort, according to the company. The truck is a boon to the Indian mining sector in its large-scale operations. The BE1800E 180 ton electrical excavator comes with leading edge technology, offers a host of features including superior controllability, mobility, durability, maintainability and operator comforts. This excavator is a cost-effective alternative to the 10 cum rope shovels currently in operation and is extremely useful in large mining projects where low cost electric power is available. The above products with reduced carbon foot print will help increase productivity in mining operations both domestically and globally. The BD50HST is a state-of-the-art first heli-portable dozer in India. It is equipped with the latest technologies such as advance ‘electric monitoring system’ for accurate and smooth operations and adjustable ‘operator sheet’ for operator’s comfort. It can quickly assemble and dissemble within a short period. This dozer can be used at remote locations like border roads for clearing debris, laying road and is capable of withstanding extreme temperature variations. The medium bullet proof vehicle (MBPV) – MK II ‘GAUR’ is designed and developed indigenously with added safety features. The equipment is equipped with night vision camera, blast resistance seat, GPS navigation, radio and telecommunication system. It boasts of modular armoured hull, central tyre inflation system and run flat tyres. The vehicle shields security personnel from arm fire and hand grenade attacks and has a carrying capacity of up to 10 persons. BEML Gaur is a 4x4 all-wheel drive and specially designed for easy manoeuvrability, operability and maintainability. New Industrial Design Centre Earlier, BEML also opened an Industrial Design Centre (IDC) located at its Bangalore Complex. The Centre was inaugurated by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The design centre will focus on implementing Industrial Design & Human Factors in all BEML products as a part of developmental strategies for setting the global benchmarking of industrial design and ergonomics. It will be integrated with R&D and manufacturing, and will be a hub for exchange of creative ideas and concepts and will provide the ‘Design-edge’ for better market and user acceptance. Designers, qualified from leading national level institutes such as NID and IIT, at IDC have carried out a global benchmarking study by means of various research. These will mainly focus on enhancing the look and feel of BEML products, operators’ ease of work and comfort as per global standards. It will harness the latest technologies like AI and Gesture Recognition, engineering resources for self-reliance, while being sensitive towards ‘Eco’, ‘Green’ and ‘Sustainability’. The manufacturing implementations of these strategies will be made possible with the in-house capabilities available with BEML, as well as through the company’s network of MSMEs. On the initiative, Dr Hota said, “BEML is a highly diversified company and we have invested in developing in-house capabilities of Industrial Design & Human Factors, Engineering & IPs. This will address the ‘design’ facet of products - presently dependent on foreign facilities and move us towards self-reliant on product design in pursuit of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.” The new IDC is expected to pave the way for the company to develop new and advanced technology products of global standards, indigenously.