Thiruvananthapuram, June 9 (UNI) CPI Kerala Secretary Binoy Viswam has urged Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to reconsider the decision to delink the BrahMos Aerospace Trivandrum Limited (BATL) from the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), a Joint Venture (JV) of India and Russia.
Former Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam, who is also President of BrahMos Employees Union (AlTUC), said the BAPL Board has taken a decision to delink BATL from the management control of BAPL as a subsidiary unit.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) leader sought the Centre to take appropriate action to retain BATL with BAPL or make BATL an entity under the DRDO. Any other decision in this regard may badly affect the growth of BATL as a prestigious organisation in Kerala, he claimed.
He said the Kerala High-Tech Industries (KELTEC), a public sector undertaking of the Kerala state, was handed over to DRDO by the Kerala government in March 2007, envisioning its development.
An asset worth 300 crore, including 17.8 acres of land, a modern plant, and machinery, was transferred to the central government for just one rupee (free of cost), he said.
Since DRDO is a research and development organisation, it faced difficulties in direct takeover, prompting the then defence minister to take necessary actions for the transfer of KELTEC to BAPL, which operates under DRDO; thus, KELTEC was handed over to the Indo-Russian joint venture BAPL by the state government in November 2007, he explained.
On January 1, 2008, the BrahMos Thiruvananthapuram company was restructured into a subsidiary called BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL) by the order of BAPL Headquarters, Delhi.
Currently the BATL executes BrahMos, DRDO, ISRO, and BARC works in Thiruvananthapuram. BATL is now executing important and very complicated components of BrahMos missiles like BrahMos metallic air components, the gas generator control panel system (GG-CPS), the B1-BIl booster, F3 CKD-SKD for land and air versions, containers for launching, corset logistics for land and air packed containers, etc.
The organisation has been profitable for the last 11 years and made a profit of Rs 24 crore in the financial year 2024-25. It is understood from employees of BATL that on May 20, 2025, the BAPL Board and AGM have taken a decision to delink BATL from the management control of BAPL as a subsidiary unit.
“Hence, I request you to investigate this matter and also take appropriate action to retain BATL with BAPL or make BATL an entity under DRDO,” the CPI leader said in a letter to Rajnath Singh.
