The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has inked an agreement with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Pune worth Rs 5,336.25 crore for the procurement of electronic fuzes for the Indian Army.

The contract will span over the next 10 years and comes under the "Manufacture of Ammunition for Indian Army by Indian Industry" initiative by the central government.

BEL will be manufacturing electronic fuzes at its Pune and, eventually, Nagpur plants. The contract is slated to generate employment for 150,000 man-days.

It will also encourage participation from Indian industries in the ammunition manufacturing segment. Consequently, this should help broaden the ammunition manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

This news comes days after the defence ministry approved a Rs 2,800 crore proposal for buying around 6,400 rockets for Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher systems.