Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, August 11

The Maharashtra government has fast-tracked the setting up of a defence equipment manufacturing cluster at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN).

According to state government sources, the cluster which will generate 50,000 jobs have already drawn interest from prominent investors and defence contractors. Earlier this week, the government allotted 20 acres of land for the project. Officials said work on the project will begin immediately.

The Vidarbha Defence Industrial Hub, a special purpose vehicle will construct the manufacturing unit at sector 10 in MIHAN where the cluster is coming up, according to state government sources. The
initial investment involved has been estimated at around Rs 235 cr.

Tata Technologies Ltd, a Tata group company, which will be investing Rs 70 cr in a project here to impart skills to personnel who would be absorbed by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Imparting of specialized training for technicians who will be employed at the defence cluster has already begun and they will be absorbed when the first units are set up in a year’s time, according to
sources.

MIHAN is a mega industrial project spread over 4,300 hectares and was inaugurated 15 years ago.

A few defence and aviation-related industries are already located at MIHAN. Apart from Air India’s MRO and Reliance Dassault Aerospace Park, there are many smaller defence establishments here and the government is hopeful of attracting more companies in this field, officials said.