BEL and Esri India Forge Strategic Pact to Advance GIS and GeoAI Solutions for Defence Sector
New Delhi/Bengaluru, August 3, 2026. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and ESRI India have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop advanced GIS and GeoAI solutions for India’s defence sector, aiming to enhance operational readiness, situational awareness, and indigenous technological capabilities under the Make in India program.
The agreement was formalised in New Delhi on 3 August 2026. BEL, a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Defence, will combine its expertise in defence electronics and systems integration with Esri India’s leadership in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), location intelligence, and GeoAI.
This collaboration builds upon previous joint projects delivered for the Indian defence services and seeks to expand the scope of cooperation in critical geospatial domains.
Under the MoU, BEL and Esri India will jointly pursue opportunities in defence programs, ensuring the timely availability and deployment of GIS solutions to meet urgent operational requirements.
Esri India will provide training support to BEL through its proprietary Indo ArcGIS platform, enabling BEL to build in-house expertise in GIS and GeoAI. This training is expected to strengthen BEL’s capacity to deliver mission-ready geospatial solutions without reliance on external providers.
Agendra Kumar, Managing Director of Esri India, emphasised that geospatial intelligence has evolved from a support capability to a strategic decision-making advantage in defence. He noted that the convergence of GIS and GeoAI will play a critical role in enabling commanders to analyse, visualise, and respond with greater speed and precision.
He further highlighted that the partnership represents a significant step towards advancing indigenous geospatial innovation and equipping India’s defence services with future-ready location intelligence aligned with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Rajnish Sharma, Director (BC) and Additional Charge Director (Marketing) at BEL, stated that the partnership combines BEL’s defence systems expertise with Esri India’s GIS capabilities to develop next-generation geospatial solutions.
These solutions will empower defence forces with actionable intelligence, improved operational coordination, and enhanced situational awareness. BEL reaffirmed its position as a leader in India’s defence and strategic electronics sector, with a portfolio of more than 600 products spanning communications, electro-optics, satellite communication systems, and strategic electronic components.
BEL is also actively engaged in emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, mission-critical communications, and unmanned systems.
The integration of advanced geospatial intelligence with these domains is expected to support the modernisation of India’s defence infrastructure and strengthen indigenous defence technology capabilities.
The MoU is firmly aligned with the Government of India’s Make in India initiative, with both organisations committing to leverage indigenous capabilities and technology sharing to meet the requirements of India’s defence establishment. This partnership underscores India’s broader strategic push to reduce dependence on foreign technologies and build resilient, self-reliant defence systems.
