CPI Urges Centre to Retain BATL Under BrahMos Joint Venture

Thiruvananthapuram, June 9 — The Communist Party of India (CPI) has raised concerns over the reported move to separate BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL) from its parent body, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), urging the Union Government to reconsider the decision.

CPI Kerala State Secretary Binoy Viswam, who also heads the BrahMos Employees Union (AITUC), has appealed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to halt the delinking process, cautioning that such a move could hamper the development trajectory of BATL, which has grown into a key defence production unit in Kerala.

He pointed out that the BAPL Board, during its Annual General Meeting on May 20, resolved to withdraw management control over BATL, effectively severing it as a subsidiary. Viswam contended that this decision could derail the momentum BATL has gained as a reputable contributor to India’s strategic defence manufacturing ecosystem.

Highlighting BATL’s origins, Viswam recalled that Kerala High-Tech Industries Ltd. (KELTEC), a state PSU, was handed over to the Centre in 2007 for just a token amount, with the intent of integrating it into the national defence framework. Since the DRDO, a research body, could not directly operate a manufacturing unit, the facility was transferred to BAPL—a joint venture between India and Russia—in November 2007. Subsequently, BATL was formally created as a subsidiary on January 1, 2008.

BATL, which supports vital projects for BrahMos, DRDO, ISRO, and BARC, has been instrumental in producing high-precision components such as missile airframes, gas control systems, boosters, and launcher containers. Viswam underscored that BATL has been financially self-sufficient for over a decade, posting a profit of ₹24 crore in the 2024–25 fiscal year.

The CPI leader proposed that instead of detaching BATL from BAPL, the Centre should either continue its current status or place it directly under DRDO. Any other route, he warned, could undermine both the morale of the workforce and the long-term strategic importance of the unit to India’s defence manufacturing ambitions.