TN Defence Industrial Corridor inaugurated

Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor, the second such project in the country, was inaugurated on Sunday with promised investment of Rs 3,038 crore by various companies, including PSUs.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Defence Industrial Corridor in the presence of Tamil Nadu Industries Minister M C Sampath in Tiruchirapalli, 300 km from Chennai.

This is the second Defence Industrial Corridor to be inaugurated in the country after Uttar Pradesh.

Officials said that majority of the investments would come from PSUs as Ordnance Factory Board, Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited committed to invest Rs 2,305 crore, Rs 140.5 crore and Rs 150 crore, respectively.

From the private sector, the investments’ pledge has come from TVS, Data Patterns and Alpha Designs, they said.

Inaugurating the corridor, Nirmala hoped that the corridors will not only help in accelerated growth and regional industry agglomeration but will also facilitate a “well-planned and efficient industrial base”.

The Defence Industrial Corridor will include Chennai, Hosur, Salem and Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli as the nodes, officials said.

Noting that the response from the local industry to this corridor “has been amazing”, the minister said that the defence corridors in the country will lead to increased defence production in the country.