Mumbai Metro to soon get made-in-India driverless metro car
21 Jan 2021
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Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will soon have India’s first indigenously designed and developed driverless metro car. These trains are being manufactured at BEML Bengaluru Complex.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday unveiled the state-of-the-art driverless metro car at a function held at BEML’s Bangalore complex.
Calling it a manifestation of the true spirit of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat, Rajnath Singh said the MMRDA project has 63 per cent indigenous content, which will be enhanced to 75 per cent in the next two to three years.
“This reflects Indian Industry’s overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanairbhar Bharat Abhiyan call” he said, adding that this driver-less metro project will act as a source of inspiration to other Indian companies, particularly the defence industry to help India emerge as a manufacturing hub which, in turn, will fulfil $5 billion defence export target and $25 billion defence industry turnover by 2025.
He said the Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020 and the new Defence Acquisition Policy incorporate provisions for purchasing equipment and platforms with more indigenous technology. Citing the government’s recent decision to procure 83 Tejas fighter aircraft from HAL, at the cost of nearly Rs50,000 crore, the defence minister said it will create over 50,000 new job opportunities and “about 500 Indian companies, including MSMEs as well as private companies, will get a business boost with the HAL’s Tejas project.”
He expressed the hope that MMRDA’s driver-less technology will expand into other fields like defence, involving tanks and fighter planes in the future. BEML, Rajnath Singh said, is a true ‘Atmanirbhar Warrior,’ adding that the Covid-19 pandemic, which has halted progress across the world, has had almost no impact on the production activities of BEML and DPSUs.
Deepak Kumar Hota, chairman and managing director, BEML, said, “BEML’s foray into metro manufacturing has been a defining moment for the urban transportation scenario of the country. With a major market share in the country in direct competition with well-established international players, BEML has made its mark as the only Indian company in this high technology field.”
Rajnath Singh also virtually launched the Aerospace Assembly Hangar, situated within BEML’s Bangalore Complex, and unveiled first te indigenously manufactured Tatra Cabin by BEML.
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