Shares of state-owned Bharat Electronics were sharply higher by more than 2 percent to emerge as the top gainer on Nifty 50 index, following reports over the weekend that the defence PSU has received the much-awaited Request For Proposal (RFP) from the Indian Army to supply Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missiles (QRSAM) for an new air defence system to be inducted as 'Anant Shastra' cover.
Over the weekend, news agency ANI had reported that the tender has been opened to develop the ambitious missile system, costing about Rs 30,000 crore, to enhance the air defence along the western and northern borders.
BEL Invited for QRSAM RFP
It is expected that the tender has sought a formal invitation for proposal, also known as Request for Proposal (RFP) for 5-6 regiments of Anant Shastra (QRSAM) systems has been sought, which could result in an order for BEL if the Army accepts BEL's bid. BEL manufactures Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missiles (QRSAM) capable of 'search on move, track on move and fire on short halts', according to the company.
For the QRSAM, the approval of Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) was received in July 2025, which BEL had called as 'good progress' during its June quarter earnings call. Now, the RFP has to be issued to the company. "We are confident to get this order by February, March as of now..." BEL had said in June.
Major Order by Q4FY26
"It may not slip to Q1 of next year. We are confident we may get in the Q4 of this year itself QRSAM because the progress looks really good for us and DAC approval already has come," BEL added, sounding confident of bagging 'major portion' of the order, some of which will 'spill over to Q1FY27 also, but majority of the orders are expected in Q3 and Q4FY26.
For the project, DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) is the lead developer with Bharat Electronics providing the radars and electronic systems while Bharat Dynamics will be responsible for the production of the missile systems. There are likely other private partners, too, including L&T, which will be contributing to the launcher and other sub-systems.
BEL had said that it is confident of cornering a 'considerable portion' of orders for sub-systems for the project, even though Procurement and Compliance (P&C) related details are being worked out. "So, we have already started discussing with them about the configuration, final effect about the final bomb. So those activities are going on at a good pace. So we are hoping in the next 3 to 6 months, we will get a considerable portion of subsystems order with us. So that is a -- good progress is there, but this is having some five, six different types of subsystems," Manoj Jain, CMD of BEL had said during the June quarter earnings call.
BEL already has an orderbook of over Rs 80,000 crore, and the QRSAM project is expected to be a major contributor to the future order pipeline for the company. The PSU has been developing systems and testing them jointly with DRDO, along with other subsystems involved in the project.
BEL's annual revenue is nearing Rs 30,000 crore, and with an orderbook of around Rs 27000 crore, the management is confident of a -15 percent revenue growth projection going forward, even at this large base. "So, I don't see 16-17 percent will be a challenge for me, but definitely it will not go below 15 percent, that much I can assure you. It will be between 15-17 percent, 17.5-18 percent, somewhere, we will try to stabilize around that type of a growth pattern based on the order inflow and type of projects where we are involved right now," CMD Manoj Jain had said in June 2025.
Boost to India's Air Defence
With a range of around 30 km, this proposed air defence system is expected to complement the existing MRSAM and Akash missile system in the short and medium ranges. As per ANI, this air defence system is being put to trial for night operations as well.
The project is part of Army's preparedness against drone and missile threats on the western border, as was seen during the recent Op Sindoor against terror targets inside Pakistan during May 2025, where India's air defences had thwarted the use of Chinese-made missiles and Turkish drones along the border.
Brokerage View
Motilal Oswal in a note on September 29 said Bharat Electronics is currently at 48.2x and 40.3x the FY26e and FY27e EPS and maintained its Buy call on the stock with a two-year target price of Rs 490 per share, which is around 24 percent higher from current levels.
"Our estimates already factor in large-sized order inflows from QRSAM and next-generation corvettes to materialize between FY26 and FY27. We also bake in longer gestation period for these orders and expect a sales/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 18%/17%/17% over FY25-28," said MOSL.
The note highlighted some key risks to the outlook, citing a slowdown in order inflows, rising competition, or delays in the finalization of tenders, along with a rise in commodity prices among key factors.
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