Soon LCA Tejas For IAF To Be Built In Salem? Tamil Nadu Urges HAL To Set Up Manufacturing Facility In The State

The Tamil Nadu government has been urging state defence manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to set up a plant in Salem, Press Trust of India has reported.

The AIADMK government has cited the ambitious defence corridor being built in the state as a means to generate HAL’s interest.

As per Secretary (MSME) Tamil Nadu Government D P Yadav, they are looking to acquire a big chunk of land, which can potentially become a HAL manufacturing facility.

He added that the government is looking at aerospace as one of the growth areas. They are also focusing on technology transfer and indigenisation of defence products.

A Tamil Nadu defence corridor was inaugurated on 20 January. It is India’s second defence industrial corridor. PSU’s like Ordnance Factory Board, Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Ltd have already committed a total investment of over Rs 2,500 crore. Lockheed Martin too has announced an investment in the corridor.

The corridor would comprise of cities like Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli.

Coimbatore has been chosen as the defence innovation hub as it already has a thriving ecosystem of large number of micro, medium and small enterprises. The innovation hub will have a common facility centre to be created through a special purpose vehicle.