Defence stocks in limelight; zoom up to 9 pc

Defence stocks on Monday jumped up to 9 per cent after the announcement that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters under a staggered timeline till 2024, in a mega push to boost domestic production.

Defense stocks on Monday jumped up to 9 percent after the announcement that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters under a staggered timeline till 2024, in a mega push to boost domestic production. Shares of Bharat Electronics Limited zoomed 9.17 percent, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd 8.74 percent, Astra Microwave Products 5.48 percent, Bharat Dynamics 4.16 percent, BEML jumped 3.95 percent and Apollo Micro Systems 3.63 percent on the BSE.

"Government's action to boost domestic defense productions helped gains in defense stocks," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. In a mega push to boost domestic defense production, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday announced that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles and sonar systems under a staggered timeline till 2024.

Making the announcement on Twitter, the defense minister estimated that the domestic defense industry would receive contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore within the next five to seven years as a result of the decision to prune the import list of defense platforms and equipment. India is one of the largest importers of arms globally.