Senior officials of the defence ministry and PSU BEL ink the mountain radar deal in New Delhi on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: The defence ministry has inked a major capital acquisition contract with PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the procurement of two mountain radars, including associated equipment and infrastructure, for the Indian Air Force, at a cost of around Rs 1,950 crore.The installation and commissioning of these radars will boost the country’s air defence and strengthen national security. The procurement will also reduce the dependency on foreign equipment.The radars are indigenously designed and developed by DRDO’s electronics and radar development establishment, and will be manufactured by BEL.The contract, under the Buy (Indian-indigenously designed, developed and manufactured) category, was signed in the presence of senior officials of the defence ministry and BEL on March 31. This was the last capital acquisition contract in the last financial year.