New Delhi, Apr 4 (KNN) Two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs) have been set up in order to attract total investment worth Rs 20,000 crore by 2024-25 for defence industries, develop domestic supply chain and strengthen defence manufacturing ecosystem in the country, Minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

In a written reply, Bhatt pointed out that in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC), there are six nodes namely, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Chitrakoot and Lucknow.

In the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor (TNDIC), there are five nodes - Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirappalli, he added.

The nodel agency for the UPDIC is the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) and for TNDIC it is Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).

As per reports, around 108 MoUs  have been signed with industries/organisations in UPDIC with a potential investment of Rs 12,191 crore. An investment of Rs 2,445 crore has been made and 1611 hectares of land have been acquired so far for the development of the UPDIC.

In Tamil Nadu, agreements have been signed with 53 industries for a potential investment of Rs 11,794 crore. An investment worth Rs 3,894 crore has been made and 910 hectares of land have been acquired so far for the development of the TNDIC.

The DICs have been established to develop a holistic defence manufacturing ecosystem which is a progressive and ongoing process.  (KNN Bureau)