The Yogi Adityanath government is planning a Shubharambh (auspicious start) ceremony of the defence corridor in Uttar Pradesh from Aligarh in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon. The state has also shown a 200-acre piece of land in Lucknow, as requested, to the BRAHMOS Aerospace Joint Venture company for setting up a BRAHMOS Missile unit in the state.

This will be a major fillip for the defence industry in the state, officials said. BRAHMOS Aerospace has told the UP government that it will start civil construction within three months of getting possession of the land in Lucknow and is slated to manufacture more than 100 BRAHMOS missiles in the next three years. The UP government has also allotted 74 hectares of land to 22 defence companies in Aligarh with a confirmed investment of nearly Rs 1250 crore. The land registry for 20 posts of 19 of those companies has also been completed and infrastructure works there are in full swing, senior UP officials said.

The UP government is inviting the PM for the ceremony in Aligarh. “The PM is laying the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap State University in Aligarh on September 14. We are trying for the Defence Corridor project to be unveiled the same day in Aligarh by him. The plan is however not final yet,” a senior official said.

The biggest investment in the Aligarh node of the Defence Corridor is proposed by Ancor Research Labs LLP of Rs 550 crore to produce drones and an investment of Rs 150 crore assured by Syndicate Innovations International Ltd to produce small arms and ammunition. Other companies allotted land here will produce precision equipment, optical sights, metallic parts for grenades and explosives.

BrahMos Project

The UP government has also fast-tracked the process of arranging 200 acre of land for the Brahmos project to be set up in the Lucknow node of the Defence corridor project. A delegation of BRAHMOS Aerospace, the joint venture of DRDO and NPO Mashinostroeyenia of Russia, has been shown a 200-acre piece of land in Sarojini Nagar of Lucknow on August 24 for setting up the BRAHMOS production unit, officials said.

The next-generation BRAHMOS and other missiles will be manufactured here at a modern production facility to be set up with an investment of Rs 300 crore. “BRAHMOS Aerospace has assured to start civil construction within three months of getting possession of the land as it is slated to manufacture more than 100 BRAHMOS missiles in the next three years,” a senior official in UP government said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had specially requested CM Yogi Adityanath to allot the 200 acres of land in Lucknow at a Rs 1 lease cost to BRAHMOS Aerospace. On Singh’s push, a delegation from Brahmos Aerospace had met with the CM recently where he assured them that land would not be a problem for the prestigious project. “The process to acquire/procure the land has begun,” an official said.