{"id":9043,"date":"2026-09-16T16:10:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T10:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/2026\/09\/16\/how-ankur-shah-is-guiding-krishna-defence-to-meet-increasingly-customized-defence-requirements\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:10:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T10:40:42","slug":"how-ankur-shah-is-guiding-krishna-defence-to-meet-increasingly-customized-defence-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/2026\/09\/16\/how-ankur-shah-is-guiding-krishna-defence-to-meet-increasingly-customized-defence-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ankur Shah is guiding Krishna Defence to meet increasingly customized defence requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"
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India\u2019s defence manufacturing sector has been quite buoyant given the emphasis on Aatmanirbharta in defence production. For Ankur Shah, the Managing Director of Krishna Defence and Allied Industries Limited (KDAIL), this represents a strong growth opportunity, though meeting stringent expectations and specifications while dealing with long procurement cycles remains a constant challenge.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe biggest adjustment has been learning to balance patience with decisiveness,\u201d Shah explains. \u201cIn defence, a commercial discussion can involve detailed qualification, testing, and evolving specifications before it translates into an order. Short-term signals do not always reflect long-term opportunity. I have therefore focused on building capabilities that remain valuable across programs, rather than making decisions only around immediate order visibility.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For Shah, this approach came early in his career. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOur approach to business has been shaped by a strong foundation in manufacturing systems and engineering,\u201d he notes. \u201cEarlier experience at Godrej & Boyce provided valuable exposure to process discipline, quality, and operational efficiency.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As KDAIL evolved, Shah recognized that deep competencies in metallurgy, special-grade steels, and precision engineering can support far more sophisticated applications than basic fabrication. Today, the company operates over 1,00,000 square feet of dedicated defence manufacturing infrastructure at Halol, Gujarat, complemented by an advanced electronics manufacturing and testing facility in Bengaluru.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving Up the Value Chain<\/b><\/h4>\n

Under Shah\u2019s leadership, KDAIL has steadily moved beyond traditional build-to-print component supply, transitioning into a full-spectrum solutions provider.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOur relationship with customers increasingly begins with understanding the operational requirement rather than simply the manufacturing specification,\u201d says Shah. \u201cDefence products need to deliver reliability, consistency, and performance in demanding environments, often over long lifecycles. This has encouraged us to improve our design, development, testing, and quality assurance skills in addition to our manufacturing skills.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rather than pursuing contracts solely for top-line expansion, Shah maintains a strict filter on capital deployment and project selection. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe evaluate opportunities on their strategic relevance rather than looking only at immediate revenue potential,\u201d he says. \u201cWe consider whether an opportunity strengthens our technology capabilities, builds intellectual property, creates repeat or lifecycle demand, or allows us to move higher in the value chain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This strategy is reflected in KDAIL\u2019s corporate investments and joint ventures. The company has acquired a 20% stake in Conceptia Software Technologies, bringing specialized marine and offshore engineering expertise directly into its fold. Along with that, KDAIL has forged a joint venture with Planys Technologies and Conceptia to engineer Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)\u2014a critical technology for modern naval warfare and unmanned underwater systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFirst may not always be the priority when reliability and performance are essential,\u201d Shah explains regarding innovation. \u201cWe assess innovation based on whether it solves a problem, enhances performance, minimizes reliance on imports, and develops a capability that can be applied to future programmes. This is why our emphasis on indigenization is well in sync with the overall vision of \u2018Make in India\u2019 and \u2018Atmanirbhar Bharat\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

People, Precision, and Public Markets<\/b><\/h4>\n

Behind the heavy machinery and advanced metallurgy lies a highly specialized human element. In an industry where tolerances are measured in microns and failures are not an option, workforce competence is an indispensable moat.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the biggest challenges is building talent that is not only soundly grounded in engineering fundamentals but also understands defence-related applications,\u201d Shah observes. \u201cManufacturing of defence products calls for special expertise in metallurgy, design, automation, quality engineering, and system engineering, with a special emphasis on reliability and compliance.\u201d KDAIL tackles this gap through active continuous training and immersion across its 193-strong workforce, which includes 28 dedicated engineers across its Halol and Bengaluru sites.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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As the head of a publicly listed entity, Shah balances long gestation programs with investor accountability. \u201cWe are more focused on transparency, disciplined capital allocation, and long-term value creation now that we are a publicly traded company,\u201d he remarks. \u201cWhen we make things for the military, we have to think about the long term, especially since buying timelines can affect when orders are fulfilled and when revenue is recognized. Our plan is to strike a balance between short-term tasks and investments that build the skills we\u2019ll need for future growth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The results of this discipline are visible on the order book, which stood at \u20b9268.6 crore as of March 31, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Road Ahead<\/b><\/h4>\n

With the government encouraging private participation in India\u2019s defence ecosystem, Shah is convinced that the opportunity will belong to those who build genuine in-house muscle rather than those merely riding sectoral tailwinds.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe believe enduring defence businesses will be built by companies that invest in capabilities, quality, and technology rather than simply respond to the current sectoral opportunity,\u201d Shah concludes. \u201cOver the next five to ten years, we want KDAIL to be recognised for building strong, globally relevant capabilities from India and for consistently delivering on complex requirements. Beyond this, the entrepreneurial opportunities that interest us are those where engineering, technology, and manufacturing can come together to solve meaningful problems.<\/span>The larger objective is to build businesses that create lasting value rather than pursue short-term opportunities.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<p>The post How Ankur Shah is guiding Krishna Defence to meet increasingly customized defence requirements<\/a> first appeared on Hello Entrepreneurs<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

India\u2019s defence manufacturing sector has been quite buoyant given the emphasis on Aatmanirbharta in defence production. For Ankur Shah, the Managing Director of Krishna Defence and Allied Industries Limited (KDAIL), this represents a strong growth opportunity, though meeting stringent expectations and specifications while dealing with long procurement cycles remains a constant challenge.\u00a0 \u201cThe biggest adjustment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-9043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-insight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/womenly.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}