Reliance Defence shares surges after signing contract with Defence Min

New Delhi: Shares of Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd (RDEL) surged 8 per cent on bourses after the firm signed a Rs 916-crore contract with the Defence Ministry for design and construction of 14 fast patrol vessels for Indian Coast Guard. RDEL is a wholly-owned arm of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra).

The stock jumped 7.95 per cent to end the day at Rs 61.80 on BSE. On NSE, the shares climbed 8.12 per cent to settle at Rs 61.90. In terms of volume, 20.63 lakh shares were traded on BSE and over 80 lakh shares changed hands on NSE.

RDEL emerged winner through a competitive bidding process undertaken by the Ministry of Defence with participation from almost all private sector and public sector shipyards namely L&T, Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Goa Shipyard Ltd, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), the company said in a statement.

This is the first time a private sector shipyard has been awarded a contract to design and build such class of ships for Indian Armed Forces. RDEL will be developing the design in-house, it said.