- Nilkamal’s Defence Makeover. Sidhesh Balurkar on Expanding from Plastics to Precision
- Polymer Innovations for the Indian Armed Forces
By Sangeeta Saxena
New Delhi. 25 April 2025. When one hears the name Nilkamal, what often comes to mind are household furniture solutions—sturdy plastic chairs, dining sets, and office furniture. But behind this household brand lies a quiet but impressive legacy in defence manufacturing, spanning over three decades. At Milipol India, ADU caught up with Sidhesh Balurkar, Senior Manager – Business Development (Defence) at Nilkamal Ltd., to understand how the company has evolved into a trusted defence vendor, its pioneering work in polymer components for weapons and landmines, and its future plans under the Make in India initiative.
ADU. When we think of Nilkamal, we think of furniture. What brings Nilkamal to a defence and homeland security exhibition like Milipol India?
Sidhesh Balurkar. Nilkamal has been a part of the defence ecosystem for more than 30 years. We’ve been supplying critical components like lower handguards, upper handguards, grips, and magazines for assault rifles, as well as various types of landmines, including the third-generation Adrushy Mk-II mine. Most of our work has been with the ordnance factories across India. So, defence is not new to us—it’s just a lesser-known facet of our brand.
ADU. How are you currently servicing the armed forces and police?
Sidhesh Balurkar. We participate in tenders from the seven new PSUs that emerged after the corporatization of Ordnance Factories—like OF Trichy, Ishapur, SAF Kanpur, Chanda, and Padwal. Many of our components, especially for small arms and landmines, are in regular demand. We also look forward to working more with the Ministry of Home Affairs and state police forces. This exhibition is our first major effort to directly engage with the end users and expand into the internal security domain.
ADU. What are your flagship defence products?
Sidhesh Balurkar. I would highlight our assault rifle magazines and components of the Adrushy Mk-II mine. Magazines are extremely precision-sensitive—a small defect in the spring can make the weapon ineffective. Our Engineering Polymer Division ensures high-tolerance manufacturing for such critical components. The Adrushy mine is a complex product—made of more than 70 parts including copper foam, gold- and silver-plated components. It’s been a technically rewarding journey to develop and supply these to ordnance factories.
ADU. Can you explain two of your main products?
Sidhesh Balurkar. I will speak mostly about the magazines, mostly about the assault rifle components. Magazine is one of the most challenging component. So, if there is smallest mistake in any of the spring, the bullet will not come out. The main function of the gun is to shoot the bullet, it won’t happen. So, the smallest of the smallest error is not acceptable in any of these components. We have zero margin of error. So, that is why one of our division is also called as Engineering Polymer Division, because each and every product, each and every component is very well defined with specific tolerances and it has to be made according to that. If it is not, then the end purpose will never get solved. Same goes to the mine. Now, Andhrusha mine is one of the most advanced mine which has been developed in India by ARD. We are the development partner. Now, this mine contains at least 70 components. Some of the components are of gold plating, some components are of silver plating, some components are of bronze plating. Some are as small as probably 2 or 3 mm in size. Some components are very large, some are very critical copper-foam component. So, getting these developed by our sub-vendors is also a challenge, where you have to constantly meet them, understand the problem they are facing, meet with the client, come up with the solution and then your product is ready. So, it takes time and these are 2-3 very challenging and very amazing products which we have successfully developed over a period of time and executed well.
ADU. What are your short- and long-term goals in the defence domain?
Sidhesh Balurkar. In the short term, we aim to create greater awareness among armed forces and security agencies about our defence capabilities. Exhibitions like Milipol are great platforms for this. In the long term, we want to expand our defence partnerships, especially under the Make in India initiative. We’ve already signed JV agreements with companies like Vega Holster and GTL, and we’ll begin manufacturing their products in India soon.
ADU. How has Milipol India been for Nilkamal?
Sidhesh Balurkar. We’re excited to that Nilkamal is part of Milipol India 2025, showcasing it’s cutting-edge expertise in defence-grade infrastructure and smart storage solutions for the homeland security sector. Nilkamal brings innovation to the frontlines of defense and public safety, helping to secure national security with high-quality products tailored to the needs of the security industry. The footfall has been good and keeping in mind this is our first show, we are very satisfied.
What an amazing journey! From trusted polymer experts to precision defence manufacturers, Nilkamal’s foray into the defence sector is a story of innovation, quality, and quiet excellence. Led by a dedicated team and backed by a strong brand, Nilkamal is now poised to scale new heights under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. With their Silvassa and Hosur facilities already manufacturing defence components, the company’s next mission is to expand its footprint across internal security forces and global OEM collaborations.
As told to Sangeeta Saxena
