New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Union Minister for Communications and Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Jyotiraditya M. Scindia will lay the foundation stone on Sunday for Adani Group’s Rs 2,500 crore defence manufacturing plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district, a project expected to strengthen the state’s position as an emerging defence manufacturing hub.

The project is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives and is aimed at boosting indigenous defence production, according to a statement.

The facility is expected to generate around 5,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities while integrating local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into the defence manufacturing supply chain.

The statement further noted that the project is the result of the minister’s sustained efforts to attract investment to the Gwalior-Chambal region, which is gradually emerging as a major defence manufacturing cluster.

The upcoming plant in Shivpuri will complement Adani Group’s existing small arms manufacturing complex, helping create a comprehensive defence manufacturing ecosystem in the region.

Construction of the facility is expected to be completed within the next three years, following which commercial production is scheduled to begin.

In addition, more than 25 local MSMEs are already linked to the Adani Group’s Small Arms Complex manufacturing facility in Gwalior, and the new project is expected to further expand opportunities for ancillary industries.

Moreover, the Gwalior plant had supplied the first batch of ‘Prahar’ light machine guns (LMGs) to the Indian Army 11 months ahead of schedule and has already generated around 3,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The defence manufacturing project is among several major industrial investments announced for the Gwalior-Chambal region in recent years, alongside a jacket manufacturing unit at Badarwas and a Rs 1,059 crore cement grinding unit in Guna.

–IANS

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