UP Defence Corridor Investment: India is trying to make more of its own defence equipment instead of buying from other countries. One important step for this goal is the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor. This project started in 2018 and it was created by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority, also called UPEIDA.
The defence corridor is being built across six cities in Uttar Pradesh. These cities are Kanpur, Jhansi, Lucknow, Aligarh, Agra, and Chitrakoot. These places are called “nodes”. Factories and defence companies are slowly coming to these locations to make weapons, parts, and other important defence equipment.
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Government sources say that the corridor is becoming very important for India’s defence and aerospace needs. The project is helping the country build more equipment on its own. This also helps India become stronger in the global defence market.
Investments and Land Development
According to the latest report shared by UPEIDA, the project has already received investment proposals worth Rs 35,526.76 crore. This shows that many companies want to build factories inside the defence corridor.
The government collected about 2,040 hectares of land for this project. Out of this land, 977.54 hectares have already been given to different industries. Till now, 62 companies have received land in the six nodes. Some factories have already started working while others are still being set up. At present, nine factories are already operating and another eleven companies are in the process of completing lease agreements.
Each city has received different amounts of investment. The biggest investment has come to Kanpur with Rs 12,803 crore. Jhansi comes next with Rs 11,738 crore. Lucknow has received Rs 4,850 crore while Aligarh has attracted Rs 4,490 crore. Chitrakoot has seen investment worth Rs 880 crore and Agra has received Rs 607 crore.
Companies Making Defence Products
Some major companies have already started production in the corridor. Adani Defence & Aerospace has begun work at its ammunition factory in Kanpur. This plant is worth Rs 1,500 crore and it is currently the biggest investment in the corridor.
In the Aligarh node of western Uttar Pradesh, a few companies are already making defence equipment. Amitec Electronics has set up a Rs 330 crore unit that produces electronic warfare systems and satellite related equipment. Werywin Defence has started manufacturing small arms with an investment of Rs 65 crore. Another company called Nitya Creations is also producing precision parts with an investment of Rs 12 crore.
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The state capital Lucknow is slowly turning into an important centre for advanced defence materials and missile technology. Aerolloy Technologies is producing titanium castings with an investment of Rs 320 crore. BrahMos Aerospace has a Rs 300 crore facility where the BrahMos NG missile is assembled. A smaller unit called Sankalp Safety Solutions is also working here and it makes safety equipment with an investment of Rs 14 crore.
Kanpur is also seeing more defence related production. AR Polymers is producing ballistic materials with a Rs 48 crore investment. Adhunik Materials has a Rs 38.58 crore facility that manufactures defence textiles.
