UP: Navy to set up excellence centre in defence corridor

LUCKNOW: To promote indigenisation within the defence sector, a Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation was launched by chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday. An MoU was also signed between the UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority and the Indian Navy on the occasion. It will help the Indian Navy find solutions to its various challenges through the Centre of Excellence which is being established by UPEIDA in the Defence Corridor.
With defence minister Rajnath Singh joining the event via video-conferencing, the Navy also signed MoUs with Raksha Shakti University, Gujarat, Maker Village Kochi and SIDM Delhi.
The chief minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focussed on innovation and indigenisation in his vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
“The defence minister has also taken a decision to produce 101 articles associated with the defence industry in India itself. This will help us realise the dream of Atmanrbhar Bharat and this MoU with the Indian Navy is crucial for the defence corridor in UP,” he said.
He said that UP is a state with immense investment possibilities and added that the defence corridor, announced by the PM in February 2018, is a greenfield project. “The state government is prioritising this project and has announced various concessions and sops to promote production along it,” he said. The CM announced that 1,298 hectare land for the defence corridor has been acquired under the Aligarh, Kanpur, Jhansi and Chitrakoot nodes and that all the land identified in Aligarh has already been allocated to investors.
UPEIDA is, meanwhile, establishing a centre of excellence with help from IIT Kanpur and BHU.
“During the February 2020 International Defence Expo, the state signed MoUs with 23 companies for investment in the defence corridor. We are expecting an investment of about Rs 50,000 crore as part of this corridor,” chief minister Yogi Adityanath said.
The defence minister hailed the PM for having turned a calamity into an opportunity by presenting his vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. “Indigenisation is continuously taking place in the forces. Concerted effort is required to realise this dream of the PM’s and the Indian Navy is working in this direction. Towards this direction, it is preparing to partner with state governments and private institutions,” he said.