TN Defence Industrial Corridor inaugurated

NEW DELHI: The second Defence Industrial Corridor -- connecting Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli -- was inaugurated on Sunday by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The corridor is expected to attract investments worth ₹3,123 crore, as per the ministry of defence.

The Corridors overlap with existing defence public sector companies, and aim to bolster defence manufacturing in India.

The first Defence Industrial Corridor was thrown open in Uttar Pradesh last year. Typically comprising small, medium and big industries, the specialised corridors are expected to provide a base to boost manufacturing of indigenous defence equipment in India.

India topped the list of arms importer accounting for 13 percent of the trade in weapons platform between 2012-2018, according to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Although the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government has been focusing on indigenous manufacturing, the results have not been encouraging.

International defence manufacturing giants like Lockheed Martin and others announced their plans to set up units in the corridor. However, a majority of the commitments to invest have come from defence public sector companies like the Bharat Electronics and Bharat Earth Movers limited.

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) announced plans to invest about ₹2,305 crore in Tamil Nadu.