Bharat Electronics Limited Company Profile, Products, Employees and Revenue

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian state-controlled defence electronics company headquartered in Bengaluru, known for radars, communication and C4I systems, electronic warfare suites, naval sonars and its role as lead integrator of the Akash air defence system. It was founded in 1954 and holds Navratna status under the Ministry of Defence.

BEL reported revenue from operations of ₹27,479.63 crore for FY2025-26, up 16.15%, and an order book of ₹73,882 crore on 1 April 2026, according to its results announcement. Its Integrated Annual Report 2025-26 lists 7,074 permanent employees and 2,346 permanent workers at 31 March 2026, nine plants in India and exports equal to 4.99% of turnover. The Government of India is the majority shareholder, and the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force are its main customers.

What Does Bharat Electronics Limited Do?

BEL designs, develops, manufactures and sells strategic electronic products and systems, and services them after delivery. Its annual report says manufacturing accounts for 90% of turnover and installation, repair, maintenance and upgrade services for 10%. Customers include the Indian armed forces, paramilitary forces, the Coast Guard, government agencies, other public-sector companies and foreign governments. Outside defence it makes electronic voting machines, traffic signals and smart-city and homeland security systems.

How Many Employees Does BEL Have?

BEL’s Integrated Annual Report 2025-26 records 7,074 permanent employees and 2,346 permanent workers at the end of March 2026, or 9,420 permanent staff. Adding non-permanent staff gives 12,444 employees and 9,107 workers in the report’s tables. The company notes that for FY2025-26 it stopped counting non-executives and contract workmen under "employees" to avoid double counting, so the figure is not directly comparable with earlier years. Wikipedia cites 8,844 employees for March 2025.

BEL Revenue and Financial Results

The company gave its order book as ₹73,882 crore on 1 April 2026. Exports contributed 4.99% of FY2025-26 turnover, and BEL says it served customers in 13 countries outside India.

Who Owns Bharat Electronics?

The Government of India holds 51.14%, followed by Life Insurance Corporation at 7.5% and Bank of Baroda at 4%, according to shareholding data cited by Wikipedia (December 2023). BEL is one of 16 public-sector undertakings under the Ministry of Defence and is listed on the BSE and NSE. Manoj Jain is chairman and managing director. In 2002 it became the first defence PSU to reach Mini Ratna Category I status, and it now holds the higher Navratna rating.

What Are BEL’s Main Radar and Air Defence Products?

The Low-Level Transportable Radar (LLTR), named Ashwini, is an active electronically scanned array radar designed by DRDO’s Electronics and Radar Development Establishment. On 12 March 2025 the Ministry of Defence signed a ₹2,906 crore contract with BEL, Ghaziabad, to supply it to the Indian Air Force. The ministry said it can track targets from fast fighters to drones and helicopters (PIB release).

Rohini is the ground-based variant of the 3D Central Acquisition Radar, an S-band design from DRDO’s LRDE with a range beyond 150 km and 200 tracks in track-while-scan mode, according to Wikipedia. Production is by a joint venture of BEL, Larsen & Toubro, Astra Microwave and Entec (Wikipedia). Our report on the Arudhra naval radar covers another DRDO design that BEL builds.

BEL is the lead integrator of the Akash system, and in the programme it supplies the surveillance and fire-control radars and command centres. Bharat Dynamics builds the missile. Wikipedia lists a 2010 Air Force order for 750 missiles across six squadrons at ₹4,279 crore, and a later ₹5,400 crore contract for seven Akash Prime squadrons after a 2019 clearance. Range is 25 km for the Mark 1, 30 km for Akash Prime and 50 km for Akash-NG (Wikipedia). See our note on Akash-NG at AAD 2026.

What Naval, Army and Electronic Warfare Systems Does BEL Make?

For the Navy, BEL builds the HUMSA hull-mounted sonar in several generations, the Nagin towed array sonar, the Lynx-U2 gun fire-control system, a combat management system and Data Link II, which Boeing installed on the P-8I. Army products include the Swathi weapon-locating radar, battlefield surveillance radars and tank electronics. BEL also builds electronic warfare equipment at its Hyderabad unit, which opened in 1986. Wikipedia lists sonars, a naval combat management system and electronic warfare systems as product lines, and BEL reports EW as 23% of turnover.

BEL History and Key Milestones

BEL operates nine manufacturing units across India, at Bengaluru, Ghaziabad, Pune, Machilipatnam, Chennai, Panchkula, Kotdwar, Navi Mumbai and Hyderabad. It has overseas offices in New York, Singapore and other cities.

Recent Developments Affecting BEL

India’s move to open DRDO missile technology to private industry could widen the supplier base around programmes where BEL supplies radars and fire control, as described in our DRDO missile technology transfer report. Comparable European radar houses are profiled in our Hensoldt, Thales and Indra company profiles.

BEL FAQ

Where is Bharat Electronics Limited headquartered?

In Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

When was BEL founded?

1954, in Bangalore.

How many employees does BEL have?

7,074 permanent employees and 2,346 permanent workers at 31 March 2026, according to its Integrated Annual Report 2025-26.

What was BEL’s revenue in FY2025-26?

₹27,479.63 crore from operations, up 16.15% from ₹23,658.01 crore.

What is BEL’s order book?

₹73,882 crore on 1 April 2026, according to the company.

Who owns BEL?

The Government of India holds 51.14%, per Wikipedia citing December 2023 data. BEL is a Navratna PSU under the Ministry of Defence.

What is the Ashwini radar?

An AESA low-level transportable radar designed by DRDO. BEL received a ₹2,906 crore contract on 12 March 2025 to supply it to the Air Force.

What is BEL’s role in Akash?

Lead integrator of the system, supplying radars and command centres, while Bharat Dynamics builds the missile.