Logistics, defence see MoUs worth Rs 16,400 crore in Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth nearly $2 billion (about Rs 16,400 crore) with North American companies in the logistics, defence, and aerospace sectors.

The agreements were inked recently with the companies incorporated in the US and Canada, a senior government official said.

US-based Mobility Infrastructure Group will invest Rs 8,200 crore in logistics projects, expected to generate 100 fresh employment opportunities. Canada-based QSTC will also pump in Rs 8,200 crore in defence and aerospace projects, creating 200 jobs.

The government is looking to showcase the state’s military hardware manufacturing potential as well as the UP Defence Corridor at the UP Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) 2023 in Lucknow during February 10-12. The event is likely to attract defence manufacturers from the US, Europe, Russia, the UK, Sweden, France, Israel, and Germany. These include: US missile company Northrop Grumman; UK missile launch systems and ammunition maker BAE Systems; German rifle company Umarex; Swedish firm SAAB, the maker of Carl Gustaf M4 rifles; Russia’s Almaz-Antey, a leading military hardware exporter; France’s Dassault Aviation, which manufacturers Rafale jets; and Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), which deals in unmanned aerial systems. “During the recent visit of the UP ministers and officials to North America in run-up to the GIS next month, MoUs of almost Rs 20,000 crore were signed across sectors with logistics, defence, and aerospace leading the chart,” he said.

India eyes $5 billion exports in defence manufacturing in near future. The two defence corridors in UP and another in Tamil Nadu are seen as the steps taken by the Centre to achieve this goal.

The UP Defence Corridor spans six nodes: Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, and Agra. So far, the state has acquired 1,600 hectares of land for allotment to companies.

Meanwhile, the UP delegation to North America led by state legislative assembly speaker Satish Mahana and cabinet minister Dharampal Singh, held 51 Government-to-Government (G2G) and Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings in the US and Canada. They received 27 letters of intent (LoI) worth Rs 41,000 crore, of which, 8 proposals were converted into MoUs and signed. At the mega summit, the UP government is targeting private investment to the tune of Rs 17 trillion.