British arms manufacturer Webley & Scott would set up its production unit at Sandila in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district.
According to a government official on Wednesday, the Birmingham based arms company has joined hands with India based Sial Manufacturers for setting up a plant at Sandila. Sial Manufacturers are currently the distributor of the British arms company's products in the country.
The official said that in the first phase, the company would produce .32 revolvers. ''It plans to produce pistols and air guns also at the plant,'' he added.
The official said that the company planned to start production in the next couple of months. ''We expect the .32 revolvers to hit the market in November this year,'' he said quoting Sial Manufacturers' officials.
According to the sources, Sial Manufacturers would hold 51 per cent of the holding in the Indian based company. Webley & Scott would have the remaining stocks.
Sial officials made it clear that all the parts of the revolvers would be manufactured at the Sandila plant. ''It will not be an assembly unit...every part of the revolver will be manufactured here,'' said one of the officials. It would be the first foreign company to manufacture arms in India.
Webley & Scott is one of the oldest arms manufacturing companies in the world with around two centuries of production of various types of firearms, including Webley revolvers, shotguns, and Webley rifles.
The company, which was founded in the late 18th century, manufactured various types of pistols. The revolvers made by the company hit the market in 1853.
Webley was well known in the arms manufacturing field and its revolvers and automatic pistols were supplied to the British Army from 1887 till the second world war.