Jindal SHL to make high-nitrogen steel for defence sector

The country's largest stainless steel maker Jindal Steel (Hisar) (JSHL) on Wednesday marked its foray into the Defence sector by forging a pact with DRDO for transfer of technology relating to high-nitrogen steel for armour applications.

"The use of high-nitrogen steel will replace the existing import of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA), resulting in improved cost efficiency in material acquisition for armour applications by 50 per cent," JSHL said after the pact was signed in the presence of Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre on Wednesday.

Addressing the event, Bhamre said it is a breakthrough technology for armour applications and boosts indigenous technologies, in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' vision. Terming it as a "comprehensive" joint effort, JSHL said it took almost a decade of R&D by JSHL and Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) to develop high-nitrogen steel (HNS). "This will usher in self-reliance and global leadership in Defence," Bhamre said, urging the industry to explore further upgradation of technology.

JSHL said it forayed into the Defence sector by "signing the licence agreement with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, which entails transfer of technology for manufacturing HNS for armour applications".

With this, JSHL claims to be India's first company to commercially manufacture HNS for the Defence sector. The company said this development will not just accelerate the indigenisation process of the Indian Defence arsenal in line with 'Make in India', but help in easy availability of best material to manufacture lighter armoured vehicles as import procurement often delays the manufacturing process.