NEW DELHI: Giving a push to ‘Make-in-India’ initiative, the defence ministry on Thursday inked a Rs 2,312 crore contract with defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for production of eight Dornier 228 Aircraft for the Indian Coast Guard.The contract was signed under the “buy (Indian) category” in the presence of defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.The contract reinforces the govt’s commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat while bolstering India’s maritime security architecture.The programme is expected to generate significant direct and indirect employment by strengthening HAL’s production ecosystem and supporting a broad network of MSMEs & ancillary industries. It will also create sustained opportunities in maintenance, repair and overhaul, and life cycle technical support, the defence ministry said.As of today, HAL is engaged in a wide array of defence projects, managing a massive order book that involves production of 180+ Tejas Mk-1A fighters and development of Tejas Mk-II; development and production of Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Prachand (156 additional units ordered), Indian multi role helicopter (IMRH), light utility helicopter (LUH), and Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH); production of 70 HTT-40 basic trainers; and licenced production of Su-30MKI engines and MiG-29 upgrades.HAL on Thursday reported a strong financial performance for the Dec quarter of the current financial year as the defence PSU posted a 29.6% year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit. Its profit after tax for the quarter stood at Rs 1,866.7 crore, compared to Rs 1,439.8 crore in the same period last financial year (Q3 FY25), according to an exchange filing.