Rs 70,000 cr investments proposed for def corridors in UP, TN; Rs 10,000 crore already invested: Rajnath
The Ministry of Defence stated that proposed investments across the Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridors have reached approximately Rs 70,000 crore, of which around Rs 10,000 crore has already been invested.
Approximately 250 Memorandums of Understanding have been signed for the establishment of industrial units across the two corridors, with several units reported to be integrating into global defence supply chains.
Indigenous platforms including the Akashteer air defence control system and the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile were cited as having been effectively deployed during Operation Sindoor, presented as evidence of progress in defence indigenisation.
A new Defence Acquisition Procedure was announced to accelerate domestic production, building on existing Positive Indigenisation Lists; approximately 75% of the defence modernisation budget is currently reported to support Indian industry.
Defence Industrial Corridors — Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
Defence Industrial Corridors are geographically defined clusters where the government incentivises co-location of defence manufacturing units, MSMEs, testing facilities, and anchor industries to build an indigenous production ecosystem, rather than relying on scattered individual ordnance factories. The two corridors were announced in the Union Budget 2018-19 as part of the broader push toward self-reliance in defence production.
Key Details
- The Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor spans six nodes: Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot and Jhansi; its foundation was laid at Aligarh in August 2018.
- The Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor spans five nodes: Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli; it was formally launched at Tiruchirappalli in January 2019.
- Both corridors combine central incentives with state-level support such as land allocation and duty concessions to attract anchor units and ancillary MSME suppliers.
The reported Rs 70,000 crore proposed investment and Rs 10,000 crore already deployed represent cumulative progress in these corridors roughly eight years after their announcement, alongside the 250 MoUs signed for new industrial units.
Positive Indigenisation Lists and the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020
The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, promulgated on 28 September 2020, is India's principal policy instrument for procuring capital defence equipment, superseding the earlier Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016. It introduced acquisition categories prioritising domestic content, such as "Buy (Indian-IDDM)," "Buy (Indian)" and "Buy and Make (Indian)," in that order of preference over imports. Positive Indigenisation Lists are a complementary mechanism under which specific categories of equipment can thereafter be procured only from Indian sources after a notified timeline.
Key Details
- The first Positive Indigenisation List, covering 101 items, was notified in August 2020; a second list covering 108 items was notified subsequently.
- A new Defence Acquisition Procedure has been announced to further accelerate domestic production, alongside a Long-Term Bulk Acquisition (LTBA) procedure for capital-intensive, hi-tech equipment procured in multiple tranches with provisions for progressive indigenisation.
- Roughly 75% of the defence modernisation budget is currently reported to be allocated to Indian industry, compared with a far higher import share prior to DAP-era reforms.
The Defence Industrial Corridors supply the domestic manufacturing capacity that Positive Indigenisation Lists require industry to draw upon, linking the corridor investment figures directly to the indigenisation targets embedded in DAP 2020 and its successor procedure.
Indigenous Systems Deployed in Operation Sindoor — Akashteer and BrahMos
Akashteer is an AI-enabled, fully automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System designed, developed and manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Space Research Organisation. It integrates Army ground-based air defence sensors with the Air Force's Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) and the Navy's Trigun system, enabling a Joint Air Defence Centre to access a unified sensor picture. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed under a 1998 India-Russia joint venture between the DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, cruising at roughly Mach 2.8-3.0.
Key Details
- Akashteer was inducted into the Indian Army in 2024 and is reported to have intercepted drones, missiles and loitering munitions during Operation Sindoor.
- BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited is headquartered in New Delhi, with India holding 50.5% equity and Russia 49.5%; the missile's export range was originally capped at 290 km under Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) limits, extended to approximately 450 km after India's accession to the MTCR in 2016.
- The air-launched BrahMos-A variant was reported to have been used for precision strikes during Operation Sindoor.
Citing Akashteer and BrahMos as operationally proven during Operation Sindoor is used to argue that indigenisation policy — including the corridors and Positive Indigenisation Lists — has translated into combat-relevant domestic capability rather than remaining a manufacturing statistic alone.
- Proposed investment across UP and TN Defence Industrial Corridors: approximately Rs 70,000 crore; already invested: approximately Rs 10,000 crore.
- MoUs signed for industrial units across both corridors: approximately 250.
- UP corridor: 6 nodes (Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi); TN corridor: 5 nodes (Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli); both announced in Union Budget 2018-19.
- DAP 2020 promulgated 28 September 2020, superseding DPP 2016.
- Positive Indigenisation Lists: first list of 101 items (August 2020); second list of 108 items.
- Share of defence modernisation budget currently supporting Indian industry: approximately 75%.
- BrahMos range extended from 290 km to approximately 450 km following India's 2016 MTCR accession.
- Akashteer developed by Bharat Electronics Limited with DRDO and ISRO; inducted into the Indian Army in 2024.