AMN / Tiruchirppalli
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today launched a series of projects as a part of the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor in Tiruchirppalli today.
Addressing the gathering, Ms Sitharaman spoke about the initiatives taken by the Ministry for ensuring that the Indian industry can engage with Armed forces and co-create the best in defence technologies, especially through the flagship program of ‘Make in India’.
She also stated that development of these corridors will not only help in accelerated growth and regional industry agglomeration, but will also facilitate a well-planned and efficient industrial base which will lead to increased defence production in the country and the region.
This will also help the industry to integrate with the global supply chain of Defence manufacturing.
The event was attended by over 500 industry representatives coming from different parts of the state.
Several ministers and senior officials of Tamil Nadu Government and senior officials from Ministry of Defence, Defence Public Sector Undertakings, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Ordnance Factory Board were also present during the event.
The Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor will include Chennai, Hosur, Salem and Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli as the nodes.
Dr.Ajay Kumar, Defence Production secretary said that the corridor is expected to be a specialised facility of aero component manufacturing. Ordnance Factory Board has announced 2305 crore rupees investment in the corridor.
Defence Ministry said that Tiruchirappalli offers perfect ecosystem for defence manufacturing as major public sector companies like BHEL, Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project,Ordnance Factory and Railway workshops function in the region.
This will be the country’s second defence industrial corridor after the first one was launched in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh August last year.
The Ministry also said that Tamil Nadu ranks 4th in the country with 9.8% of India’s total exports and the corridor will expand the exporting opportunities from the region.
Defence Minister also launched Coimbatore District Small Industries Association, CODISSIA, Defence Innovation Hub through Video conference from Trichy.
