Rishi Aggarwal, Managing Director, JCBL Group, discusses the company's growth trajectory, and its role in supporting India’s vision of self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

JCBL Group has been steadily expanding its footprint across diverse verticals. Could you share some of the most recent developments within the group that mark a turning point in your growth journey?

At JCBL, technology has been our compass, it keeps us moving forward. A significant step we took a couple of years ago was launching a composite division, MSL Composites, which positioned us as a leader in the industry. Now as we move into prepreg solutions and advanced composites like carbon fibre, which will push us right into the high-performance materials space. 

Then came defence. That was a whole new world, complex, challenging, but full of possibility. And with Atmanirbhar Bharat gaining momentum, we’re proud to be building products that didn’t exist in the Indian market before, homegrown solutions that serve both our growth and the country’s larger vision of self-reliance.

That’s not just growth for JCBL, it’s a small but real contribution to the country’s bigger story of becoming self-reliant through innovation.

From automotive to defence and railways, JCBL has a strong presence across multiple sectors. How has each of these verticals performed in the last year, and which ones are showing the most promise going forward?

Each of our verticals, automotive, defence, and railways, is at a different stage of its journey. And that’s what makes the story of JCBL so dynamic. They’re not just business lines; together, they’re the engine that drives our multi-sector strength.

The automotive sector is where it all began. It’s our most mature and deeply rooted vertical, 35 years of building, refining, and leading. Today, we’re one of the largest manufacturers of special application vehicles in India. 

We’ve been in railways and metros for over a decade now, and we’re proud to be part of marquee projects like Vande Bharat and metro in cities like Mumbai and Chennai and many others. What’s exciting is that our composite components aren’t just staying within India, they’re travelling far, being used for global projects like Sydney and Mexico metro. It’s a space where our credibility is growing fast, and so is the opportunity.

Then there’s defence, our newest and most strategic leap. Getting into this space has meant building mission-critical systems and developing solutions that, in many cases, are firsts for the Indian market. It’s high-stakes, high-value work, deeply aligned with the Make in India vision.

If I had to put it simply, automotive is our foundation, railways is our rising star, and defence is where the future gets written. Together, they’re shaping a growth story that’s balanced, ambitious, and deeply connected to India’s next chapter.

What challenges and opportunities do you foresee as the automotive sector transitions to electric vehicles?

Electrification in the commercial and custom mobility space is exciting, but it’s not without its challenges. At JCBL, we’ve been intentional about how we approach it, mainly because heavy-duty and specialised vehicles bring a different set of constraints. Things like range, charging infrastructure, and payload requirements make the shift to electric more complex, especially as customers benchmark the total cost of ownership (TCO) against fossil fuel vehicles over a five-to-six-year horizon. 

That said, we’re very much in the game. We’re actively working with several OEMs to co-develop practical EV solutions that make sense in this space. Our mindset is simple: collaborate closely, innovate responsibly, and make sure whatever we scale is both technically solid and commercially viable.

So, how is JCBL Group aligning its manufacturing and product development strategies to embrace electro-mobility?

Electrification isn’t just a shift—it’s a huge opportunity. As the world moves away from internal combustion engines, one thing is clear: lighter, smarter, more efficient mobility solutions are going to lead the way.

That’s where JCBL fits in. Over the years, we’ve built a solid understanding of materials, design, and engineering. And now, we’re using that expertise to support the EV space—especially through integration of lightweight components that help improve range and overall performance.

How has been exports for your mobility business? Which geographies are you targeting for growth in the near future?

Specialised mobility has always been one of our strongest pillars at JCBL. It’s a space we’ve led for years, and we’ve built everything from luxury buses to fully customized vehicles like mobile clinics, dental vans, motorhomes, mine protected armoured vehicles, election campaign vans, and more. We've worked across so many use-cases that today, we’re the go-to partner for most major OEMs in India.

During COVID-19 pandemic, we designed and built healthcare vans that not only went global but were also part of India’s official aid to countries like Nepal and Bangladesh. That moment said a lot about our engineering strength and our ability to deliver when it mattered most.

Right now, we’re helping global OEMs/distributors in setting up SKD (semi knocked down) assembly lines in their own countries for various mobility applications. Some exciting projects are underway in Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia. 

With India pushing for self-reliance in defence manufacturing, how is JCBL Group tapping into this momentum, and what role do you see your company playing in the Make in India defence narrative?

Defence is, without a doubt, the most exciting frontier for us right now. With rising global tensions and growing defence budgets worldwide, India’s push for self-reliance under Atmanirbhar Bharat has created the perfect momentum for companies like ours that are ready to build from the ground up.

We saw this shift coming a few years ago and decided not to wait. We put together a focused defence team and started building capabilities across the board—MRO, aerospace, land systems, and combat technologies. It wasn’t easy, but today we’re part of several major government projects, and our products have gone through some of the most rigorous testing and approvals in the sector.

Some of our proudest moments are: being the first in India to develop systems like man-carrying parachutes, heavy drop platforms, hydraulic loading systems, and weapon subsystems like RCWS turrets and firing control systems. We’re also involved in active protection systems, which are among the most complex technologies in modern defence.

Railways are undergoing significant transformation in India. What innovations or product offerings has JCBL introduced to cater to this sector, and how do you plan to scale further in this space?

The railway sector in India is changing fast and not just in terms of size. Expectations are evolving. What used to be all about the lowest bid has now shifted. Today, performance, aesthetics, and quality matter more than ever. And that change has opened the door for manufacturers like us who focus on building premium, future-ready solutions.

At JCBL, we saw this shift as a real opportunity. Through MSL Composites, we’ve become a key player in this space. We’re proud to be supplying FRP components and sheet metal parts for major projects like Vande Bharat.  

To keep pace, we’ve scaled up. We set up a new unit under MSL Composites and upgraded our technology stack. Earlier, we were working with LRTM and RTM processes but now we’ve stepped into advanced prepreg solutions. It’s helped us build lighter, stronger, better-finished components. We’ve also launched a new line of rail seating and continue to grow our sheet metal offerings. So, as Indian Railways transform, we’re not just keeping up, we’re building right alongside it, ready for what’s next.

JCBL is known for its diversification strategy. What drives your decision-making when entering new verticals?

Change has always been a part of how we grow. When we started, the goal was simple: lead in mobility. We began by building buses for Swaraj Mazda, and that became our foundation. But we didn’t stop there. That first step led us into luxury buses, then special application vehicles, and later into making our own parts and components. What started as small product improvements slowly turned into full-scale business verticals.

Our diversification has never been random. It’s been about looking ahead. Our core leadership team travels a lot, studies what’s happening globally, and constantly asks: where can we go deeper? Where can we bring something new to the table? That habit of exploration has helped us turn ideas into scalable businesses.

Right now, defence is where we see huge potential. It’s a sunrise sector for us. We’re not just entering the sector; we’re going deep into it. We’re acquiring technologies, building capabilities across the group, and staying focused on creating long-term value in a space that really matters.

According to you, how important is R&D for the success of the Make-in-India (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) initiative? How can we increase private sector participation in R&D?

If you ask me, R&D is the backbone of any country’s manufacturing strength. And for a long time, India fell short on that front. At JCBL, we understood early that without a strong R&D foundation, market leadership isn’t sustainable. That’s why, no matter how the year’s looking—good or tough—our investment in R&D has never been up for debate. It’s just part of how we operate.

A significant gap in India is the limited involvement of academia in real-world innovation. Globally, academic institutions often work hand-in-hand with industry, building new tech, solving real problems, and getting students industry-ready along the way.  

To do our bit, we set up The Design Village, an industrial design institute in Noida. Students there work directly on live industry projects. It’s hands-on, it’s real, and it’s bridging the gap between academic learning and actual industry.

What are your growth plans for the next four to five years?

When we think about growth over the next few years, we’re not just looking at our own targets, we’re looking at where India is headed. And the way we see it, our path and the country’s path are closely linked. Whether it’s defence, mobility, or railways, these sectors aren’t just part of India’s future, they’re central to our strategy too.

We’re not thinking in small percentages. We’re thinking in leaps. The goal is to grow in multiples, bigger in size, yes, but also deeper in impact. And with India stepping into a global leadership role in manufacturing and infrastructure, the timing couldn’t be better. Policies like Make in India, are creating exactly the kind of environment that enables companies like ours to thrive.

At JCBL, our mission is simple: stay in sync with India’s progress, keep contributing where it matters, and lead with innovation in everything we do.