PM Modi to unveil helicopter factory

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday inaugurate the country’s largest helicopter factory at Tumakuru in Karnataka in what is being seen as a shot in the arm for aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in defence manufacturing, the defence ministry said on Saturday.

The manufacturing facility of the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), spread across 615 acres, will initially produce the light utility helicopters (LUH), followed by light combat helicopters (LCH), and later the Indian multi-role helicopters (IMRH). Modi laid the foundation stone of the facility in 2016.

“HAL plans to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in the range of 3-15 tonne, with a total business of more than ₹4 lakh crore over a period of 20 years. Besides generating direct and indirect employment, the Tumakuru facility will boost the development of surrounding areas through its CSR activities with large-scale community centric programmes on which the company will spend substantial amounts,” the ministry said.

The facility is planned with a vision to become a one-stop solution for all helicopter requirements for the country, it said. The first LUH produced at the factory has been flight tested and is ready for unveiling. Initially, the factory will produce around 30 helicopters every year; the numbers can be increased to 60 and then 90 in a phased manner, the ministry said.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh and senior officials of the ministry will be present at the ceremony.

“The HAL complex in Bengaluru was overloaded with work and had run out of manufacturing space,” said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general at the Centre for Air Power Studies.

PM Narendra Modi