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Strengthening National Security

In light of the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, the Indian government is making swift decisions to ensure public safety. The Indian Army has successfully intercepted and destroyed Pakistani drones and missiles at the border. This heightened state of alert follows India's launch of Operation Sindoor, aimed at bolstering its strategic capabilities, which is likely to unsettle Pakistan.

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, developed through a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, is a crucial asset in India's arsenal. Uttar Pradesh is set to become the production hub for this missile, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurating the BrahMos missile manufacturing unit in Lucknow on May 11.

The facility aims to produce between 80 to 100 missiles annually. The groundwork for this unit was laid in 2021 and is part of the defence industrial corridor announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Global Investors Summit in 2018. He stated that the BrahMos unit, costing ₹300 crores, will significantly boost the project in the state. The first phase of the defence corridor project has allocated approximately 1,600 hectares of land, with major companies already signing memorandums of understanding.

Around 80 acres have been designated for the BrahMos unit, while 12 companies have been allocated a total of 117 hectares in the Lucknow node. The state government is preparing to initiate the second phase of land allocation for the project in Aligarh, with land already distributed in Lucknow, Kanpur, and Aligarh.

In Jhansi, nearly half of the land bank, which spans 1,000 hectares, is among the largest nodes. Approximately 60% of the total project land has already been allocated. Officials noted that due to high demand for land by defense sector units in Aligarh, efforts are underway to attract more investors to the remaining areas in Bundelkhand, particularly in the Chitrakoot node and the rest of Jhansi.

According to officials, BrahMos Aerospace and Aeroloy Technologies have made investments in Lucknow. Additionally, several other prominent companies have proposed investments, including Bharat Dynamics in the Jhansi node, Armoured Vehicles Corporation, Tata Technologies, Global Engineers, and WB Electronics India; Adani Defence Systems and Technologies, Anant Technologies, and Gensar Aerospace in Kanpur; and Anchor Research Labs LLP and Emitak Electronics in Aligarh.