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With the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections round the corner, the work on the UP Defence Industrial Corridor is gathering steam and the UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has established large land banks in its six nodes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Aligarh recently for the foundation stone laying ceremony of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University. The ambitious Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor project was launched by the prime minister in February 2018 and Aligarh is one of the six nodes of the corridor, Agra, Kanpur Nagar, Chitrakoot, Jhansi and Lucknow being the other five nodes.
The UPEIDA is the nodal agency for the defence industrial corridor project. The UPEIDA has established large land banks in the six nodes and in Aligarh alone, 20 companies have submitted proposals for setting up units and 19 have been allotted 55.40 hectares of land.
The companies have been able to cumulatively garner investments worth Rs 1,500 crore thus creating employment potential for 20,000 people in the months to come. Sources in the UPEIDA said that interest in the corridor was increasing and the state government was looking at allotting 30 acres more land in the Aligarh node as more investors had expressed a desire to set up their units there.
Two companies -- Encore Research Lab LLP and Allen and Alvan Private Limited -- are investing Rs 600 crore to make drones. Ten hectares of land in Aligarh has been allocated to them. One investor in Aligarh node said till date, the Aligarh node had been able to garner Rs 1,500 crore investment and it would shoot up to Rs 4,000 crore in days to come.
Land has been allotted to 20 companies so far. These companies will manufacture drones, guns, rifles, night vision goggles, ballistic helmets along with other equipment. As per sources, the land will be allocated to 15 more companies that have shown interest.
A UPEIDA official said: “Land bank of 1,000 hectares has been created in Jhansi, about 100 hectares in Chitrakoot and about 250 hectares in Kanpur Nagar for the defence industrial corridor nodes. The state government has shown a 200-acre piece of land in Lucknow to BrahMos Aerospace, which is planning to set up a manufacturing unit there."
With work on the defence industrial corridor moving at breakneck speed, many foreign investors and companies are showing interest. Recently, interest in the corridor was shown by the British High Commission too, the official added.
The government has been giving land and electricity at concessional rates, constructing boundary walls of the factory for the corridor. The land allotment has been done keeping in mind the distance from the main highway and airports. For example, land allocated in Aligarh is 20 minutes from the main highway.
In Jhansi, 15 hectares of land has been allocated to Delta Combat Systems Limited. The company is looking to set up a manufacturing unit of cartridges for assault, sniper and INSAS rifles. The investment by Delta Combat is Rs 150 crore.
