Shares of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) rose more than 1% on March 1 after it announced that the defence public sector enterprise had signed an agreement with Thales Reliance Defence Systems (TRDS).

Shares of the company were up 1.3% at Rs 95.85 on the BSE at 9:36 am.

As part of the offset commitment under the Rafale-India contract and in line with the ‘Make in India’ policy, BEL and TRDS have entered into a frame supply agreement for the manufacture and supply of TR modules and micro modules of radars used in the Rafale fighter aircraft at Aero India 2023, the defence company said in a regulatory filing.

To continue its agreement with TRDS, it added that BEL had received an order to manufacture and supply the micro module.

Incorporated in June 2017 under the Indian Companies Act 2013, TRDS is a joint venture between French Thales, France and Reliance Defence Ltd, with proposed holdings of 49% and 51%, respectively.

The company signed another agreement with the Goa shipyard at Asia’s largest air show to collaborate on global market opportunities for products such as artificial intelligence-based autonomous vessels and other systems and solutions for naval platforms.

Shares of the defence electronics company have returned nearly 300% over the past three years. BEL shares rallied around 75% between February and September last year, but they have struggled to find direction for the past six-plus months since peaking at Rs 115.

BEL designs, manufacture and supplies products and systems in various fields, including radar, missile systems, military communications, naval systems, electronic warfare and avionics, C4I systems, optoelectronics, tank electronics and gun/weapon system upgrades, and electronic fuses defence part.