Tata Advanced Systems appoints Banmali Agrawala as its new chairman

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), the largest private sector mobility player in the Defence space in India, has appointed Banmali Agrawala as its new chairman.

Agrawala, who is also a senior advisor at Tata Sons and chairman of Tata Electronics, succeeds Vijay Singh who has retired.

TASL is gearing up to become India’s first private manufacturer of a military aircraft.

The company has partnered with Airbus to make 40 Airbus C295, a new-generation tactical airlifter that is meant to replace the aging fleet of the Avro Hawker Siddeley HS-748 twin-turboprop aircraft.

Noteworthy, TASL, is the aerospace and defence solutions unit of Tata Group and hass four divisions, including

the aero structures and aero engines arm that manufactures metallics, engines and composites for planes and helicopters;

an airborne system and platform that manufactures aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV);

a defence arm that manufactures weapons, radars and sensors;

a combat land mobility arm, which manufactures armoured platforms and vehicles

Banmali Agrawala appointment is seen as a sign of Tata’s serious intent to scale up its defence business.

Further, TASL is expected to play a key role in the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative in the defence sector. The company is also looking to export its products to other countries.