After successful organisation of the DefExpo 2019, Uttar Pradesh is all set to showcase its facilities at the Aero India-2021, India’s premier aviation exposition. This is the first time the state is participating through its UP Defence Industrial Corridor.

Speaking on the corridor’s progress, Avanish K. Awasthi, CEO of Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor, said, “Our team is ready. Several foreign defence companies have signed agreements to put their units in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor and their work is in progress which will surely be able to attract more companies to come to Uttar Pradesh.”

To attract global aerospace firms to the corridor, UP is leaving no stone unturned. The state has set up a huge pavilion at the air show.

The UP defence corridor is one of the two defence corridor being setup as part of self-reliance in defence and making India a net exporter of defence goods. The other corridor is in Tamil Nadu.

The UP corridor is spread over six districts namely, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra and Lucknow.

The corridor is one of the flagship projects of the Chief Minister of UP Adityanath Yogi. The state government under his leadership is working towards rapid industrialisation of the state. The corridor spreads across Central, East, West region of Uttar Pradesh and along the Golden Quadrilateral connecting Delhi – Kolkata supported by networks of expressways 

State government plans to establish a Defence Park as a joint venture of Uttar Pradesh Expressway and Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), and IIT, Kanpur on 30 Acre land proposed in Shivli near the IIT Kanpur. UPEIDA is the nodal agency for the project.

The state also intends to establish Common Facility Centres (CFC), Centres of Excellence (CoE) and Skill Development Centres to facilitate in providing best practices, research and development and skill development. Hence, the envisaged corridor not only targets at setting up of manufacturing hubs but also aims at generating employment opportunities to cater to the most populous state in the country.

State government plans to create a land bank of 5071.19 Hectares and according to latest data 1321 have been acquired.   

Till date, 32 memorandum of understanding have been signed between UPEIDA and various companies to establish manufacturing units at the nodes for U.P. Defence Industrial Corridor. Land allotment has been initiated for Aligarh and Kanpur nodes.