UP Defence Corridor Project Racing After 2 Years; Will Play Crucial Role in Making India Self-Reliant in Defence

One of the most ambitious projects, UP Defence Corridor being set up at six places in the state – Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra and Lucknow, has started to race once again after 2 years. According to news published in ‘The Print’ – “The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), the state government-run nodal agency for the defence corridor project, has started the process to allot land to 17 companies for setting up their manufacturing units.”

Tribhuvan Darbari, MD & CEO Texmaco Defence Systems Private Limited and Chief Executive (Corporate Business) Texmaco Rail & engineering said that the Uttar Pradesh defence corridor will play a crucial role not only in the state’s development but also in the nation’s development by bringing in jobs and investments. Tribhuvan Darbari said that it is a major step towards making India self-reliant in defence sector.

Tribhuvan Darbari also mentioned that small and medium industries will especially benefit from the defence corridor.

The article published in ‘The Print’ mentions that according to Senior UPEIDA officials, as on 7 April, out of the total 67 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) inked with defence manufacturing companies, 22 have materialised so far.

“A total 22 MoUs have been finalised for land allotment. An estimated proposed investment of Rs 1,566.75 crore is expected when these companies will become operational,” Colonel (retired) K.S. Tyagi, senior defence advisor in UPEIDA told ThePrint.

The UPEIDA has already created about 1,000 hectares of land bank in Jhansi, approximately 100 hectares in Chitrakoot, about 250 hectares in Kanpur and another 78 hectares in Aligarh for the project.

The Print also mentioned the statement of Mr. Awanish Awasthi, state home secretary and CEO, UPEIDA – “We have allotted all land on the Aligarh node, where investment worth Rs 1,500 crore is happening. We have started the land allotment process in Kanpur and Jhansi nodes as well.”

Mr. Awnish Awasthi further told to The Print, “With the support of the central government, we hope to bring big investments in aircraft, land systems, missiles, ammunitions among others.”

International Companies Participation

Though major big international organizations are still shying away, we may say that there has been a good start since several other international companies have shown interest in the project. South African company, Milkor Defence Systems, which manufactures multi-barrel grenade launcher systems is one of such companies that has shown interest in the project. Apart from international organizations, there are several Indian companies that have come forward.

These include Ancor Research Labs LLP, which manufactures drones, and has proposed investment to the tune of Rs 550 crore. The company has been allotted 10 hectares land. Jai Sai Anu Overseas Private Limited has been allotted 4.5 hectare for setting up a precision components unit. It has proposed to make an investment of Rs 100 crore.

Werywin Defence Pvt. Ltd has been allotted 0.5 hectare for manufacturing small arms, and has proposed to invest Rs 65 crore. New Space Research and Technologies Pvt. Ltd has been allotted 3.5 acres and has proposed to invest Rs 35 crore to manufacture UAVs. Deep Explo Equipment Pvt. Ltd has been allotted 1 hectare for setting up its unit for manufacturing metallic parts for grenades and explosives.

Tractrix Opto Dynamic LLP has been allotted 1.4 hectare for its proposed Rs 40 crore investment for manufacturing precision and optical instruments.

TS Darbari said that under the ‘Make in India’ programme, the prime minister has stressed on ‘swadeshi’ companies along with foreign ones under the defence corridor. It should also be mentioned here that Texmaco Defence Systems Private Limited has already established prestigious partnerships with the globally renowned Russian and other international OEMs aimed at technology transfer and setting up of Joint Production facilities with TREL, for various envisaged projects of the Indian Armed Forces, under the “Make-in-India” programme.

TS Darbari also added that, “With Indian Armed Forces being the 2nd largest armed forces in the world, the country spends a substantial amount on Defence & Aerospace equipment. It is one of the largest importers of arms with a share of 9.5% of world import between 2014-18. Therefore, it has become mandatory to focus on the expansion of Defence manufacturing market and to look at arenas to strengthen indigenous manufacturing under ‘Make in India’ scheme which is a vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister.”

Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC) is an aspirational project that intends to reduce foreign dependency of Indian Aerospace & Defence Sector. It took off to an encouraging start with the announcement of investments worth over Rs. 3700 crores in Defence production at the Meet organized at Aligarh on 11 August 2018.

Source : The Print

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