Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), is a technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate.[i] Since 2021, L&T claims it does not “manufacture any explosives or ammunition of any kind, including […] nuclear weapons or components of such munitions” nor any delivery systems.[ii] However, until at least March 2023, L&T’s website stated it designed and produced the launch system for the Dhanush (nuclear-capable) short range ballistic missile.[iii] L&T continues to operates a Strategic Systems Complex (SSC) in Maharashtra, where it produces “Strategic Weapon Platforms, Sensors and Military Engineering Systems”.[iv] Yet, it is unclear whether these platforms, sensors and systems are specifically designed for the Indian nuclear arsenal. L&T also built the hull for India’s first nuclear armed ballistic missile submarine, the INS Arihant[v] The submarine was jointly developed by the Indian Navy, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project, key to India’s aim for a naval nuclear weapons capacity.[vi] Due to the lack of clarity around L&T’s current involvement in nuclear weapons, several financial institutions continue to exclude the company, as well as its subsidiary Mindtree, for nuclear weapons involvement.[vii]
[i] About L&T Group (no date) | Larsen & Toubro. Available at: About L&T Group | L&T Corporate | L&T India (Accessed: 18 December 2024);
Our Businesses (no date) | Larsen & Toubro. Available at: https://www.larsentoubro.com/corporate/our-businesses/ (Accessed: 18 December 2024).
[ii] ‘INTEGRATED REPORT 2020-21’, Larsen & Toubro (2022), p. 88. Available at: L&T Integrated Report 2020-21 | Sustainable progress for a better world (windows.net); ‘INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2022-23’, Larsen & Toubro (2023), p. 2. Available at: L&T Integrated Annual Report 2022-2023 (larsentoubro.com).
[iii] New Construction – Defence Shipbuilding| Shipbuilding | L&T India. Web archive of 27 March 2023. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20230327014941/https://www.lntshipbuilding.com/products-services/new-construction-defence-shipbuilding/.
[iv] Talegaon, Maharashtra (no date) | Larsen & Toubro. Available at: https://www.larsentoubro.com/corporate/about-lt-group/facilities/india/talegaon-maharashtra/ (Accessed: 18 December 2024).
[v] ‘Defence Shipbuilding. End-to end Solutions’, Larsen & Toubro, p. 4. Available at: Defence Shipbuilding – End-to-end Solutions;
‘Seven seas. One solution’, L&T Shipbuilding (2013). Available at: Shipbuilding brochure for E-mail.cdr (lntshipbuilding.com).
[vi] Arihant Class Submarine – Naval Technology (no date). Available at: https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/arihant-class/ (Accessed: 18 December 2024);
Arihant Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) – Armament (no date) | GlobalSecurity.org. Available at: Arihant Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) – Armament (globalsecurity.org) (Accessed: 18 December 2024).
[vii] See, for example, ‘Recommendation to exclude Larsen & Toubro Ltd from the Government Pension Fund Global’, COUNCIL ON ETHICS (2024). Available at: L&T ENG and Decisions on exclusion. Norges Bank, 5 September 2024. Available at: Decisions on exclusion | Norges Bank Investment Management; see also ‘Financial Exclusions Tracker’, Profundo (2024). Findings for Larsen & Toubro. Available at: Financial Exclusions tracker.
Last updated: 2025-02-18 17:13:21