UP to host meeting with top global defence manufacturing companies in March

State had signed MoUs worth Rs 50,000 crore at DefExpo 2020

The Uttar Pradesh government is looking to hard sell its Defence Manufacturing Corridor to the top global firms in the sector amid the defence deals worth $3 billion signed by India and US on Thursday during the US President Donald Trump's maiden visit to the country.

The state has planned to organise a conclave of top global defence and military hardware manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Boeing, CAE etc, here next month.

In the recent DefExpo 2020, the Yogi Adityanath government had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) for investment worth Rs 50,000 crore with 23 private companies in the UP Defence Manufacturing Corridor.

As India aims to achieve $5 billion worth of defence exports in the next 5 years, the state government is looking to become a major hub of military hardware and aviation manufacturing, and contribute towards the ambitious federal target.

“We are planning to organise a meeting with the representatives of top defence manufacturers next month. The dates would be finalised after the conclusion of the ongoing UP legislature session,” UP industrial development minister Satish Mahana told Business Standard on Tuesday.

The proposed meet will give an opportunity to the investors as also prospective investors to air their grievances and offer valuable suggestions to the state government to tweak its exiting defence manufacturing and aviation policy for speedier industrialisation.

Meanwhile, Mahana, while addressing the CII UP State Council annual session, said DefExpo 2020 had acted as a great force multiplier for the UP defence manufacturing sector and amply showcased the potential of the state.

“UP’s target to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024 is not possible without the composite development of the industrial sector,” he said adding industrialists were the best brand ambassadors of the state in its pursuit of attracting greater investment.

He said the proposed Jewar international airport at Greater Noida had either been given all the required clearances, including forest and environment, or the process was underway and the same would be provided in the next few days, so that the actual work could begin in right earnest.

Besides this, Mahana said the state government would soon finalise the dates for the proposed Global Investors Summit, which is likely to be held in October-November 2020.

“We have planned to organise roadshows in India and foreign countries in run up to the Summit. However, things would start moving only after we get the required go ahead and dates from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO),” he informed.

The state plans to launch roadshows from April-May this year, since it would take nearly six months to build a momentum to the mega event and search for the potential investors as well, he added.

The roadshows would be organised in USA, the UK, Russia, UAE, the Netherlands, China, Canada, France etc.