The State successfully hosted for the first time the 11th National Defence Expo in Lucknow in February this year. The platform for alliances and joint ventures in the defence industry inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also highlighted the emergence of Uttar Pradesh, which boasts of one of the two defence industrial corridors (DICs) in the country, as an attractive destination for investment in the defence sector.

The State's defence manufacturing ambitions coincide with a new strategy being drawn up by the Central government. As the country gears up to spend about $130 billion on military modernisation in the next five years, achieving self-reliance in defence production is a key target for the Central government. The focus on indigenous manufacturing has opened up the defence industry for private sector participation.

Taking forward its ambitions of making India a defence manufacturing hub, the Union government had de-licensed 275 products last year to woo investors to manufacture them in the defence corridor. This has also opened the doors for domestic private manufacturers to enter the defence production sector in a big way.

The State's new defence manufacturing policy and the prestigious defence corridor in Bundelkhand region, passing through Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow, will redraw the industrial landscape of Uttar Pradesh. The Rs 20,000-crore corridor will provide MSME sector with a big opportunity and is likely to generate employment for over one lakh people.