AVNL — The Rolling Thunder

AVNL IS ONE OF the newest Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) in India. The company was incorporated as a wholly-owned Government of India Company under the Companies Act 2013 and began operations on October 1, 2021. With five production units and three institutes of learning, AVNL is well-equipped to meet the demands of India’s Armed Forces and Paramilitary Forces for armoured fighting tracked vehicles, military logistic vehicles, and mine-protected vehicles.

Order Book & Growth Plan

AVNL’s order book position as on April 1, 2023 shows an impressive total order value of `33,000 Cr. approx. The order book for FY 2023-24 alone is `10,130 Cr, indicating the company’s strong performance in securing new orders. In addition, the revenue from operations for the FY 2022-23 has been `4,912 Cr. In upcoming years, AVNL plans to achieve a value of `5,648 Cr in FY 2023-24, which will increase to `8,294 Cr in FY 2026-27.

R&D and Innovation

With dedicated R&D centres at all AVNL units, some of the major ongoing projects are: l Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) l Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicle l Light Tank l Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) l Uprating of T-72 Tanks with 1000 HP engine l Hybrid Tracked Armoured Vehicle l Modernised Mine-Protected Vehicle (MMPV) 6X6

AVNL has successfully designed, developed, and made ready for induction into the Indian Armed Forces and paramilitary forces a modernised mine-protected vehicle (MMPV) 6X6. This development marks a significant achievement for AVNL in providing advanced, high-quality vehicles to the country’s security forces.

Excellence in Quality

AVNL has implemented several quality parameters to ensure the production of high-quality defence equipment and vehicles, including: l Inspection for critical components/ assembly/sub-assembly is carried out at the firm’s premises by AVNL unit’s inspection team to assure the ingress of a quality product at the units. l Quality Performance Index for AVNL Vendor is being implemented, strictly using the QPI to monitor the quality of the vendor. l NQDBMS has been implemented, which assures traceability of each component, Input material Inspection, In-process & Final Acceptance Inspection, Defect Investigation, and Generation of online QAC & I-Note.

Championing Statutory Compliances l AVNL is fully compliant with all the statutory requirement of Companies Act 2013 and other regulatory requirements like ITR Filings, Tax Audit etc. l AVNL is the only new defence company to successfully conduct its maiden AGM within the stipulated time by preparation of Audited Financial Statements and completion of Supplementary Audit by CAG in time. l AVNL is the first new defence company to file ITR in time and also receive IT refund of `5.74 Cr. Timely tax planning was done in AVNL resulting in a savings of Tax outflow to the extent of `26 Cr. l AVNL champions transparency in its functioning. It has taken the initiative and disclosed required information in accordance with Section 4(1) (B) of Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005.

Innovation in HR Policy Formulation

Towards organisation restructuring, AVNL introduced the concept of Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in all production units envisaging that each SBU shall be an Independent Profit Centre in itself. Implementation of the SBU structure, coupled with delayering and optimisation of manpower would lead to increase in efficiency, effectiveness and operational excellence.

Since AVNL is new DPSU, there is no regular recruitment in the Company and hence there is a huge deficiency in the strength of executives at all levels. This has the potential of adversely affecting business performance. To meet this emergent requirement, AVNL has formulated the Policy for engagement of professionals on Full Time Fixed Term Contract basis. Through this policy, it has successfully hired consultants, domain experts for new job roles as per corporate working standards.

To set golden standards in corporate governance and be recognised as an employer of choice with principles such as inclusivity and divergence forming its foundation pillars, an Equal Opportunity Policy has been framed in compliance with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 as an initiative in that direction.

For harnessing the potential of talented students/research scholars and use their expertise in various functional areas for the benefit of AVNL, an Internship Policy has been framed for engaging students pursuing UG/Graduate/ PG Degrees or Research Scholars enrolled in recognised University/ Institution within India or abroad.

Collaboration with Academia for Training and Consultancy

Industry academia collaboration is a catalyst for acceleration of breakthroughs through R&D and synthesises the strengths of both the partners for mutual benefit. AVNL has taken the initiative and signed MoU with leading educational and management institutions such as IIT Madras, IIM Bangalore, IIM Trichy and NIT Trichy for mutual collaboration in the areas of executive training, change management, organisation restructuring.

CSR Initiatives

AVNL is the first new DPSU to formulate the CSR policy and has undertaken various CSR projects such as construction of 400m Athletic Clay Track in aspirational district Asifabad, Telangana, construction of 03 additional school buildings in Avadi in collaboration with Avadi City Municipal Corporation, providing skill development training to 32 underprivileged youth in collaboration with CIPET, providing aids and appliances to Divyaangjans in collaboration with ALIMCO, contribution to AFFDF fund for welfare of family of army veterans, etc.

With these achievements, AVNL has demonstrated its commitment to delivering high-quality defence equipment and vehicles to the Indian Armed Forces and paramilitary forces. The company’s R&D efforts and growth plans for the future also ensure that it remains at the forefront of innovation in the defence industry. AVNL is the rolling thunder in the bastion of defence manufacturing. SP