Economy · 14 Aug 2026

MTA tender Tata Mahindra defence

With reference to India's recent military aircraft manufacturing tenders and projects, match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List-I (Company/Project)
A. Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) tender bid - Tata
B. Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) tender bid - Mahindra Defence
C. C-295 transport aircraft project (Vadodara) - Tata
List-II (Foreign OEM Partner)

  1. Embraer
  2. Lockheed Martin
  3. Airbus
AA-1, B-2, C-3
BA-2, B-3, C-1
CA-3, B-1, C-2
DA-2, B-1, C-3
This question is based on: Why the Government Wants Two Rivals Fighting for the Same 60 Planes
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 14 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

The Defence Ministry issued a ₹1 lakh crore tender on August 12, 2026 for 60 multirole transport aircraft, with Tata-Lockheed Martin and Mahindra-Embraer competing as rival joint ventures, mandating over 60% indigenous content built in India.

Why for UPSC

Match-the-pairs questions on defence indigenization projects test whether a candidate can keep multiple simultaneous OEM partnerships and aircraft models straight - a common UPSC pattern when several similar-sounding defence deals are in the news at once.

Prelims summary

India's MTA tender pits Tata-Lockheed Martin (C-130J) against Mahindra-Embraer (C-390), both requiring over 60% indigenous content via joint venture - explicitly replicating the earlier Tata-Airbus C-295 model built at Vadodara.

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