BEML Limited, formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited, is an Indian public sector undertaking (PSU) and a Schedule 'A' Company operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It is a diversified engineering entity and is Asia's second-largest manufacturer of earth-moving equipment.
The company was incorporated on May 11, 1964, with its initial purpose being the indigenous manufacture of Rail Coaches & Spare Parts and Mining Equipment at its Bangalore Complex. The establishment of this enterprise, with assistance from the Soviet Union, was a key step in solving the problem of dependence on foreign sources for heavy equipment critical to India's core sectors. The company's name was officially changed to BEML Ltd. on October 5.
BEML operates through three major business verticals: Mining & Construction, Defence & Aerospace, and Rail & Metro. The mechanism involves manufacturing a wide range of products, such as hydraulic excavators and bulldozers for mining, high-mobility vehicles and weapon systems for defence, and metro cars and rail coaches for the transportation sector. The company is listed on both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), with the Government of India holding 54.03% of the equity.
A significant recent change involves the government's move toward strategic disinvestment. In December 2019, the Government of India gave 'in-principle' approval to sell 26% of its shareholding, along with the transfer of management control, to a strategic buyer. As a preparatory step for this disinvestment, BEML Land Assets Limited was incorporated on July 15, 2021, as a wholly-owned subsidiary to demerge the identified surplus and non-core assets of BEML Limited.