UP Defence Corridor Work In Full Swing; To Make Its Debut In International Aero India Exhibition 2021

The Aero India exhibition, conducted every alternate year, is one of the most prominent exhibitions for aerospace and defence industries and this year it will be held in Bengaluru from 3-5 February.

The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has declared that for the first time the state’s Defence Corridor will take part in the event, Indian Express reports. The UP Defence Corridor is being established at six places in the state - Jhansi, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Lucknow and Chitrakoot.

State’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi revealed that their team is prepared and several defence companies have signed agreements to set up their units in the Defence Corridor.

“During Aero India-2021, visitors will be made aware of the activities, policies and current investments made by UPEIDA (the nodal agency for setting up the Defence Corridor). A seminar will also be held on 4 February to showcase the Defence Corridor. Also, about 15 MOUs are expected to be signed on 5 February with an investment of over Rs 3,000 crore,” a spokesperson from the government was quoted in the report.

Moreover, a defence park will be probably built on 76 hectares of land in Aligarh. Investors have been allotted the whole procured land in Aligarh for the project. Additionally, 94 per cent of the land in Jhansi, 81 per cent in Kanpur, 92 per cent in Aligarh and 96 per cent of the same in Chitrakoot have already been bought, transferred or requisitioned for the corridor.

The Indian Navy has signed a MoU with the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) to initiate a Naval Technology Acceleration Council and a Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDA) too.

The government spokesperson further said, “In Lucknow, HAL and BDL have demanded about 250 acres of land. Along with this, proposals from 5-6 small and medium industries have also been received. The district administration is trying to identify the land in Lucknow.”

Earlier it was reported that the development of the Defence Industrial Corridor is in full swing in Uttar Pradesh with around 90 per cent of the land having been acquired in all the nodes and different defence organisations working in collaboration with HAL and IIT Kanpur.