Country’s largest private artillery shell plant inaugurated in Maharashtra, 5 lakh shells will be produced annually

Taking a big step in the defense manufacturing sector, India has inaugurated the country’s largest private sector artillery shell manufacturing plant in Shirdi, Maharashtra. This state-of-the-art plant, built at a cost of approximately ₹ 1000 crore, can produce 5 lakh 155 mm artillery shells every year. This is being considered an important achievement towards strengthening India’s defense production capacity. It is being considered an important achievement towards strengthening defense production capacity.

Rajnath Singh inaugurated this defense complex. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chief of Defense Staff Anil Chauhan and DRDO chief Sameer Kamat were also present on this occasion.

Spread over 200 acres in the Savli Vihir industrial area of ​​Ahilyanagar district, the plant has been developed by NIBE Limited and Globe Forge Limited. This project is part of the Central Government’s strategy to increase self-reliance in defense production under the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.

In this plant, not only artillery shells but also rocket launcher systems, long-range rocket components, drones, explosive materials and advanced electronic testing systems will be manufactured. According to officials, modern technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and autonomous systems will be used here, so that production can be done keeping in mind the needs of future multi-domain wars.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that India, which was once considered an importer of defense equipment, is now fast emerging as a global defense exporter. He said that in the coming years, private sector participation in defense sector can increase from 30-35 percent to 50 percent.

During the inaugural event, agreements were also signed between NIBE Group and an Israeli company on the development of seaplane and optical satellite technology. This is being considered an important step towards further diversifying India’s defense industrial structure.

NIBE Group Executive Director Ganesh Nibe said his company is already contributing in the manufacturing of various missile components associated with Pinaka, Garudastra, Vayustra and BrahMos. He said the new plant will further strengthen India’s defense ecosystem.

Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan said that India is already exporting missiles and defense equipment to more than 100 countries. He said that future wars will be decided by innovation, production capacity and strong industrial structure. According to him, AI based weapon systems are replacing conventional weapons and projects like Shirdi are extremely important for India’s strategic preparedness.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that this project has given Ahilyanagar a new identity as a defense manufacturing hub. He said that seaplane manufacturing project will also be started here in future, which will further strengthen India’s self-reliance. The project is expected to generate approximately 2,000 direct and indirect jobs. Besides, micro, small and medium industries (MSMEs) of the region will also get opportunities on a large scale.

Apart from this, another ordnance manufacturing unit is being developed in Belavandi area of ​​Shrigonda taluka at a cost of ₹2000 crore. Explosives like TNT, RDX and HMX will be produced there. It is estimated that both the projects together can provide employment to 4,000 to 5,000 people.

On the occasion of the inauguration, a two-day defense exhibition was also organized in Shirdi, in which major defense companies of the country and more than 100 MSMEs showcased their technology and manufacturing capacity. Experts believe that this project is an important step towards making India a global defense manufacturing hub. This will not only meet the country’s domestic defense needs but will also increase its military export capacity rapidly in the coming years.

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