HAL Share Price Today: Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) came under sharp selling pressure on Wednesday, falling over 8 per cent in early trade after reports suggested that the state-owned defence major has not been shortlisted to develop and manufacture next-generation fighter jets under India’s Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.
At around 11:43 am, HAL shares were trading 5.4 per cent lower at Rs 4,227 on the BSE, even as the benchmark Sensex was down just 0.13 per cent. The stock had earlier slipped as much as 8.3 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 4,100.
Trading activity in the counter remained steady. About 0.16 million shares had changed hands on the BSE by that time, broadly in line with the stock’s two-week average volume of 0.15 million shares. Including NSE volumes, HAL saw trades of around 1.75 million shares till the time of writing.
The decline followed a report claiming that the Centre has shortlisted three private defence companies to develop and manufacture fighter jets under the AMCA programme, leaving HAL out of the initial selection.
The AMCA project, being led by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), is India’s ambitious plan to build a fifth-generation fighter jet. According to the report, seven companies had submitted technical bids, but HAL did not make it to the shortlist.
The programme is expected to involve an order of around 120 fighter jets, making it one of the most significant defence manufacturing opportunities in recent years. The companies selected would also be required to develop five prototypes, with the overall value of prototype development estimated at around Rs 15,000 crore.
Why was HAL not shortlisted?
As per the report, HAL was kept out due to the selection criteria used during the bidding process. Companies with very large order books and significant incomplete orders were reportedly excluded from receiving fresh large-scale mandates.
HAL currently has an order book of around Rs 2.3 lakh crore, largely driven by defence contracts, including aircraft, helicopters and engine supplies. The concern, according to the report, was that adding another mega project could strain execution timelines.
Who is in the race?
Among the seven bidders, three private sector players are said to be leading the race — Tata Advanced Systems, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and Bharat Forge. The final selection list is expected to be announced around three months from now.
The AMCA programme is expected to be executed over the long term, with deliveries targeted to be completed by 2035.
For HAL, the reported exclusion from such a high-value programme weighed heavily on sentiment, despite the company’s strong existing order pipeline, prompting investors to book profits in early trade.
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