CM Yogi makes UP an attractive destination for global arms manufacturers

NEW DELHI: The intent shown by different national and international arms manufacturing companies to become a part of the almost 1,650-hectare land spread across six districts of Uttar Pradesh, which will comprise the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor, has been described by relevant watchers as an indication of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s effective governance.
The developments in the defence corridor—which will start producing, among other weapons, the Brahmos missile by 2025—are being keenly pursued by influential and authorised lobbying groups that are based, among others, in the United States and who have told their clients, which include defence companies across the world, that it would be prudent for them to become a part of this corridor and invest in the state and thereby also gain the trust and goodwill of Chief Minister Adityanath which will help them in the long run.
“At the Capitol Hill, the UP Chief Minister has an image of an able administrator and someone who is working in a clean and efficient manner and hence defence companies are pushing to become a part of this gigantic exercise. I have had multiple queries in the recent past from representatives of defence companies seeking feedback on the status of the corridor and all of them want to be a part of it and not just for financial reasons, but for political reasons as well,” a Washington-based defence expert said. The fact that Adityanath enjoys the unwavering support of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS has further strengthened their business interest in the state as they are looking at the “larger picture”.
The establishment of the two defence corridors was announced by the late finance minister Arun Jaitley on 1 February 2018 when he gave the budget speech in Parliament. On 21 February 2018, Prime Minister Modi, while speaking during the UP investors’ meet, announced that one of the defence corridors will come up in Uttar Pradesh, while the other one will be based in Tamil Nadu.
In November 2021, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the said corridor in Jhansi. The corridor, which will cover the central, eastern and western regions of Uttar Pradesh, will run along the Golden Quadrilateral expressway connecting Delhi-Kolkata and has been divided into six nodes. In the short tenure of four years—since the first official announcement was made by Arun Jaitley and today—as per officials in the Chief Minister’s Office, Lucknow, 1,600 hectares of the 1,643 hectares that have been earmarked for the corridor, have already been acquired by the state government.
“A total of 93 Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) that include MoUs with 72 companies and 21 with industrial institutions have already been executed. The maximum 35 of these are located in Aligarh node, while 15 are based in Lucknow, 12 in Kanpur, 9 in Jhansi and 2 in Agra. The other node of this corridor is Chitrakoot. As per the recent update, the first Brahmos missile will be shipped from this corridor by the end of 2025. For this, an MoU between Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and NPOM, Russia, has already been signed and they will function from the Lucknow node of this corridor, for which 80 acres of land have been allotted and the stone laying at the site was done last year in December,” an official with the CMO told The Sunday Guardian, while sharing information on the latest updates about the corridor.
Among those who have signed the MoUs are the Adani Group, which is going to develop South Asia’s largest integrated ammunition manufacturing facility that will be a part of the said corridor. The company is investing Rs 1,500 crore for the facility, which will be spread over 250 acres.
According to Lucknow-based officials, the state government has roped in State Bank of India, Small Industrial Bank of India (SIDBI), Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda as lead bankers for which they have signed MoUs with the UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), which is the nodal authority for the establishment and smooth running of this defence corridor.
“MoUs worth Rs 11,256 crore have already been signed, 30 companies have been allotted land, 27 have been handed over their respective plots. When the project is finally completed, it is expected to bring at least Rs 50,000 crore as capital investment to the state and generate at least 2.5 lakh jobs. We are on track, there is no delay from the government’s side, something which has been traditionally associated with such projects. The investors are seeing this,” the official said.
UP has nine ordnance factories and three manufacturing units of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. One of the social benefits of the defence corridor is that a major part of it is passing through the Bundelkhand region, which is many notches down when it comes to economic and social parameters, as per the detailed DPR prepared by Ernst & Young (EY).
In April, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who had gone to Washington to attend the 4th India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue, asked American companies to come and invest in the two defence corridors while addressing a joint news conference with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, along with their American counterparts Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Among those foreign companies who have signed the MoU are Werywin Defence Group (official partner of Smith and Wesson in India), Texmaco defence, Milkor Defence Private Limited, CBC Global Ammunition (through SSS Defence), apart from Aimtrex Technology, Tata Technologies, Ancor Research Labs, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Military & Armed Forces Equipment Manufacturer (MKU), Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), Bharat Forge, PTC and several others.