Aligarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said BrahMos Missiles will be manufactured in Uttar Pradesh as he pushed for making India a defence exporter, turning around its image from being one of the biggest importers of weapons.
Laying the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University here, he also talked about the Aligarh node of Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor, and visited exhibition models of the corridor here.
"Whether it is a rifle, fighter jet, drone or warship, there is a mission going on to push Make in India. India is stepping away from the image of being one of the largest defence importers, and is moving ahead with the pledge to become a defence exporter," he said.
"UP is going to be a major centre for it. I am proud to be an MP from UP," the Prime Minister said.
Modi said, "In the Lucknow node of the defence corridor, BrahMos (missiles) will also be made."
Between 2016 and 2020, India was the world's second largest importer of weapons, according to a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), accounting for 9.5 per cent of the total global arms imports.
The country accounted for 0.2 per cent share of global arms exports during the period, making it the world's 24th largest exporter of weapons. This represents an increase of 228 per cent over India's export share of 0.1 per cent during the previous five-year period of 2011-15.
The Prime Minister lauded UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the development work in the state while accusing previous non-BJP dispensations of corruption and poor law and order.
"People of Uttar Pradesh cannot forget the kind of corruption that prevailed, and the mafia raj. Today the state is being developed with honesty by the Yogi government, and criminals are behind bars," Modi said.
He started his address wishing the nation on 'Radha Ashtami'.
In his address, he referred to development being carried in western Uttar Pradesh by the state government. (UNI)