In fact, the government had earlier proposed to host the second foundation laying programme last month. However, it was later postponed due to various reasons, including the incomplete groundwork for the proposed projects, such as land acquisition and clearances.

About 5,000 industrialists, investors and industry representatives are expected to participate in the February 27 event, which would seek to put Kanpur back on the industrial landscape of not only UP, but India as well. Yesterday, UP industrial development minister Satish Mahana reviewed the preparations for the event.

Last year, chief minister Adityanath had expressed displeasure over the slow pace of the follow-up of these projects and asked the departments to pull up their socks.

Meanwhile, Modi is also scheduled to visit Jhansi on February 15 (Friday) to lay the foundation of the flagship Bundelkhand Defence Corridor, announced by him after inaugurating the UP Investors Summit last year. The Defence Corridor would span 6 nodes at Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Chitrakoot districts.

The Adityanath government has identified 5,000 hectares for the Corridor, which is estimated to attract direct investment of Rs 20,000 crore and create 2,50,000 jobs. The state also intends to allot land to Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) near the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in the Corridor. BEL is engaged in advanced aerospace and defence production for the Indian armed forces.

The Centre had de-licensed 275 defence wares and encouraged private manufacturers to supply these to forces by competing with the public sector undertakings (PSU), which earlier enjoyed monopoly. These items have been clubbed as ‘non-core items’ of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). The army can float tenders, in which both the private sector and OFB can participate.

India is the world’s largest military hardware importer and among top 5 military spenders. To meet modernisation needs of the armed forces, India will acquire equipment worth US$ 250 billion by 2027, however, the current delivery capacity of the domestic defence sector is merely US$ 75-80 billion annually, indicating huge potential for the indigenous industry.