UK arms industry keen to invest and forge alliances in UP defence corridor

The Corridor is estimated to attract investment of Rs 20,000 crore

United Kingdom (UK) based arms and defence industry is keen to invest and forge trade alliances in the proposed mega Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor.

A five-member delegation led by Mark Goldsack, the Director of the UK-based Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) within the Department for International Trade (DIT) held a meeting with UP industrial development minister Satish Mahana here yesterday and evinced interest to invest in the Corridor.

The Corridor is estimated to attract investment to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore, and spans six nodes namely Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Chitrakoot. It is also aimed at energising the existing public and private sector defence and allied industries operating along the six nodes.

Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath government has welcomed the UK companies to invest in the state defence manufacturing sector, and promised to extend all cooperation and incentives to them, including land, trained manpower and local supplies support.

The DSO helps the UK defence and security industry in achieving export success by building relationships with overseas governments, raising awareness of UK industry capabilities and coordinating government support for export opportunities in established and developing markets.

It further offers specialist export advice and practical assistance, working closely with industry and the UK ministry of defence, the home office and other government departments and agencies.

Meanwhile, Goldsack also discussed the prospective participation of the UK defence and arms ware companies in the 11th national Defence Expo in Lucknow on February 5-8, 2020.

In his March 2019 visit to the UK, Mahana had called upon Goldsack and invited him to visit the state in connection with the Corridor and defence expo.

Top defence manufacturers in the US, Russia, Australia, Israel, Germany etc are expected to participate in the mega event, which is being organised in Lucknow on the initiative of defence minister Rajnath Singh, who represents the constituency in Lok Sabha.

Yesterday, chief minister Adityanath had also chaired a meeting to review the preparation for the defence expo in the light of the state government expecting to leverage the event for attracting big private investment by showcasing its Defence Corridor to Indian and foreign companies.

Meanwhile, the state government has already drafted a new defence manufacturing policy, likely to be implemented before the defence expo. The policy will soon be placed before the state cabinet for approval, Mahana had told Business Standard earlier this week.

The new policy is aimed at providing a major leg-up to the proposed UP Defence Corridor.

So far, the state had signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 4,000 crore with public and private sector companies for setting up units in the Corridor, while the government has identified 5,000 hectares for acquisition. Besides, investment worth almost Rs 500 crore is said to be in the pipeline.