Defence Industrial Corridor to boost UP's growth: Sitharaman

Lucknow : Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitaraman on Thursday said low cost of land and low wage rate with adequate supply of manpower will provide an impetus to the proposed Rs 20,000-crore Defence Industrial Corridor, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced for Bundelkhand on Wednesday.

Speaking at the plenary session of the Investors Summit 2018 in Lucknow, the Minister said that in turn, the project will serve as an "engine for economic development and growth of regions of Uttar Pradesh, especially Bundelkhand region".

"The Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor, proposed on a stretch covering Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, and also Kanpur and Lucknow, will leverage the existing ordnance factories and defence public sector establishments in the state," Sitharaman added.

Highlighting the benefits of the Corridor, Sitharaman stated that Bundelkhand will also benefit from the six-lane highway, which the state government has proposed to build from Chitrakoot to Jhansi, and will provide necessary infrastructural support to investment units in India.

She said that the initiatives of the Ministry of Defence to promote industry investment in defence production will also provide impetus to the Defence Corridor.

"The Ministry will, apart from taking steps to promote private investment, set up infrastructure for blast testing of arms and ammunition in the proposed corridor."

The Finance Minister in his budget speech announced setting up of two Defence Industrial Corridors in the country.

Taking the proposal forward, the Prime Minister in the inaugural address at the Investors Summit announced that one such Corridor will be set up in Bundelkhand region.