The defence ministry on Thursday sealed a Rs 62,370 crore deal with the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to procure 97 Tejas light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force. The signing of the contract came over a month after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi green-lighted the mega procurement.

It is the second such contract awarded to the state-run aerospace behemoth. In February 2021, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF.