Ministry of Defence today placed an order with Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi in Chennai for supply of 118 Main Battle Tanks, MBTs Arjun Mk-1A for the Indian Army. The order worth seven thousand five hundred 23 crore rupees will provide further boost to the Make in India initiative in defence sector and is a big step towards achieving Aatmanirbhar Bharat envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It may be recalled that the Prime Minister had handed over the Main Battle Tank Arjun Mk-1A to Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Naravane in Chennai on 14th of February this year.<br />''<br />''The state-of-the-art Main Battle Tank Mk-1A is a new variant of Arjun Tank designed to enhance fire power, mobility and survivability. Infused with 72 new features and more indigenous content from the Mk-1 variant, the tank would ensure effortless mobility in all terrains, besides precise target engagement during day and night. It has been designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO by incorporating numerous upgrades on Arjun Main Battle Tank, the in-service main battle tank with the Indian Army.<br />''The MK-1A is equipped with accurate and superior firepower, all-terrain mobility and an invincible multi-layered protection provided by an array of advanced technology systems. It can take on the enemy during day and night conditions and in both static and dynamic modes. By virtue of these capabilities, this indigenous Main Battle Tank proves to be at par with any contemporary in its class across the globe. This tank is particularly configured and designed for Indian conditions and hence it is suitable for deployment to protect the frontiers in an effective manner.<br />''<br />''This production order to Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi opens up a large avenue in defence manufacturing for over 200 Indian vendors including MSMEs, with employment opportunities to around eight thousand people. This will be a flagship project showcasing the indigenous capability in cutting-edge defence technologies.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #000000;">The Main Battle Tank Arjun Mk-1A has been designed and developed by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, CVRDE, along with other laboratories of DRDO within two years from 2010 to 2012. The development activities commenced from June 2010 and the tank was fielded for user trials in June 2012. It took only two years to develop and field the MBT Arjun Mk-1A for user trials from the user requirement. Extensive trial evaluation was conducted in various phases covering seven thousand plus kilometres both in DRDO and user trials of automotive and substantial firing of various ammunitions during 2012 to 2015.</span><br />