Tumkur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Helicopter Factory of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and unveiled the Light Utility Helicopter in Karnataka’s Tumakuru.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai were also present on the occasion.
It is a dedicated new greenfield helicopter factory which will enhance the capacity and ecosystem to build helicopters.
Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility, this helicopter factory will initially produce Light Utility Helicopters (LUH).
LUH is an indigenously designed and developed 3-ton class, single-engine multipurpose utility helicopter with the unique feature of high manoeuvrability, informed the government on Saturday.
The factory will be expanded to manufacture other helicopters such as Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Indian Multirole Helicopter (IMRH) as well as for repair and overhaul of LCH, LUH, Civil ALH and IMRH in the future. The factory also has the potential for exporting the Civil LUHs in future.
This facility will enable India to meet its entire requirement of helicopters indigenously and will attain the distinction of enabling self-reliance in helicopter design, development and manufacture in India.
The factory will have a manufacturing set-up of Industry 4.0 standards. Over the next 20 years, HAL is planning to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in the class of 3-15 tonnes from Tumakuru. This will result in providing employment for around 6000 people in the region.
Double-engine government
Aiming at the upcoming assembly elections in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stated that Karnataka state is the first choice of a double-engine government.
He was addressing a large gathering after inaugurating HAL Helicopter Manufacturing Unit and laying foundation stone for various programmes at Tumakuru district.
Targeting opposition parties, Modi stated that allegations were made regarding this HAL Helicopter Manufacturing Unit, people were prompted and provoked and precious time of Parliament was wasted. “The lie, however big it is, how many times it is told by big persons, one or the other day it will be defeated by the truth,” he said.
“From manufacturing drones to Tejas fighter jets, the world is seeing the capacity of Karnataka. The inauguration of this unit tells how double-engine government at the state and at the Centre work,” he said.
Double-engine government is not only focusing on physical infrastructure, it is also focusing on social infrastructure. “I had laid the foundation for the unit in 2017 with conviction of reducing the dependency of our defence on foreign countries. Today, hundreds of defence equipment are manufactured in India from modern assault rifles to tanks to aircraft carriers,” he said.
In the last eight to nine years, five times more investment has been made in the aerospace sector when compared to 15 years before 2014. In Tumakuru, hundreds of helicopters are manufactured. This unit will bring business of Rs 4 trillion. It will also encourage small auxiliary industries in the region, the Prime Minister explained.
When the work is done with conviction of placing the nation first priority, success is guaranteed, he underlined.
Modi maintained that the budgetary allocation of Rs 53 billion to Upper Bhadra project will improve conditions in parched lands of Tumakuru, Chikkamagalur, Chitradurga and Davanagere. The double-engine government has determined to give water to every house and the land. This would benefit the small farmer who is depending on rains.
The whole world is discussing the poor, middle-class-friendly budget. This budget has laid a strong foundation to strengthen India when it completes 100 years of Independence.
