Tata Elxsi and NOVA Control Tecnologix, a subsidiary of e2E Rail, are targeting a ₹1 lakh crore market opportunity over the next six to seven years as Indian Railways accelerates the deployment of its indigenous Kavach automatic train protection system. The companies are jointly developing and deploying Kavach 4.0, while also preparing for future upgrades under the evolving railway safety ecosystem.
According to Sourajit Mukherjee, Director and CEO of NOVA Control Tecnologix and e2E Rail, the estimated market size has doubled from the earlier projection of around ₹50,000 crore due to the planned expansion of Kavach across lower-density rail routes, Dedicated Freight Corridors and upcoming high-speed rail corridors. He said the company expects capital expenditure of nearly ₹1 lakh crore on Kavach deployment alone over the next six to seven years.
The companies are also developing additional signalling and railway technology products beyond Kavach. Mukherjee said these, combined with ongoing signalling modernisation programmes and future railway investments, could create a total business opportunity of around ₹2 lakh crore by 2031. He added that the market is expected to be served by eight to ten companies, providing significant opportunities for domestic technology providers.
The prototype developed jointly by Tata Elxsi and NOVA has received Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) approval for field trials and is currently undergoing testing. Once certified, the companies expect to supply Kavach systems for 2,000–3,000 locomotives annually and deploy trackside equipment covering about 1,000 km of railway network each year.
Jayaraj Rajapandian, Head – Aerospace, Rail and Off-Highway at Tata Elxsi, said the indigenous system is expected to cost about one-fifth less than comparable train protection systems used in advanced economies, owing to local design and manufacturing. He added that the architecture has been designed to support future upgrades, including Kavach 5.0, which will incorporate enhanced cybersecurity features. The companies are targeting their first Kavach trial order in September and aim for full-scale commercialisation by the end of 2027–28.
