Daijiworld Media Network - Shirdi

Shirdi, May 23: Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday announced that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved all four defence corridors proposed by the Maharashtra government in Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Nagpur.

Addressing a gathering during the inauguration of NIBE Limited’s defence manufacturing facility in Shirdi, Fadnavis said the project would attract investments worth over Rs 5,000 crore and generate employment for around 4,000 people.

The Chief Minister said the newly inaugurated defence facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and would manufacture artillery shells and defence equipment required for the country’s borders.

He stated that the facility would strengthen India’s security capabilities and boost defence exports in the coming years.

Referring to indigenous defence technologies, Fadnavis said India had demonstrated its technological capabilities during “Operation Sindhu,” claiming that Indian systems successfully neutralised enemy technologies without crossing national borders.

He also said the facility would manufacture seaplanes, which he described as an increasingly important and popular technology.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who inaugurated the facility, said the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was now becoming a centre for building a self-reliant defence ecosystem.

He expressed confidence that India could emerge as one of the world’s largest defence exporters in the next 25 to 30 years.

Calling the project a major milestone, Singh said a “golden chapter” was being written in India’s defence and space sectors through such initiatives.