Virendra Singh Rawat
Looking to accelerate the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor, the state government has approved defence and military ware projects of Rs 25,000 crore.
These projects pertain to the six nodes of the Corridor viz. Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Aligarh, Chitrakoot and Agra districts.
About 140 memorandums of understanding (MoU) have been signed with public and private companies for setting up units in the defence corridor, which is aimed at making India self-reliant in its defence requirements.
The MoUs have been signed with Adani Defence and Aerospace, BrahMos Aerospace, Ancor Research Labs, Tata Technologies, Bharat Dynamics Limited, Delta Combat Systems, SpiceJet Technic, Verivision, HAL, Gliders India, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) etc.
While almost 5,000 hectares of land will be acquired by nodal agency Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) across the six nodes, so far 1,700 hectares have already been acquired and allotted to investors.
The maximum of 1,000 hectares has been provided to defence sector investors in Jhansi node, which is being developed as a hub for the production and testing of arms and ammunitions. Bharat Dynamics is the lead investor in Jhansi.
The BrahMos missile unit is coming up in Lucknow. BrahMos is a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Russia’s NPOM to develop next generation supersonic missiles for the Indian forces.
Similarly, Kanpur will become the hub for manufacturing special clothes and textiles for the defence forces, bullet proof jackets, parachutes etc.
Meanwhile, some multinational companies are also discussing their plans to invest in the UP defence sector.
“UP is now known for mega events such as the Global Investors Summit (GIS) and MotoGP, which have pitchforked the state on the international map. This state has abundant natural resources, manpower and world class infrastructure for any industry to prosper,” UP industrial development and export promotion minister Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’ said.
He underlined UP was armed with plausibly the best industrial policies in India apart from 25 sectoral policies, which helped the state garner investment proposals of Rs 40 trillion after the GBC was organised in February 2023.
Earlier, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to expedite defence related investment proposals, and warned against slackness.
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India, which is among the world’s leading defence ware importers, is targetting $5 billion worth of exports, and ultimately become a net exporter in the sector. The defence corridors in UP and Tamil Nadu are part of the roadmap.