Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to perform the Bhoomi Pujan for a state-of-the-art 10,000-tonne Aluminium Extrusion Press facility in Nagpur, Maharashtra on Friday, in a ceremony that will also be attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior officials from the Defence Production Department.
The facility, once operational, is expected to significantly enhance India’s defence manufacturing capabilities by enabling domestic production of critical aluminium components that are essential to the defence and aerospace sectors. High-capacity aluminium extrusion presses of this tonnage are rare globally, and the Nagpur facility would place India among a select group of countries capable of producing the large-format, high-precision aluminium profiles required for defence platforms, aircraft structures and military-grade equipment.
The project carries clear strategic significance within India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat framework, which is aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on imported defence equipment and components. For decades, India has been one of the world’s largest importers of defence hardware, a position that successive governments have sought to reverse through domestic manufacturing investment, technology transfer agreements and public-private partnerships in the defence sector.
Aluminium plays a central role in modern defence and aerospace manufacturing due to its strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance and machinability. High-tonnage extrusion presses allow manufacturers to produce large structural components in single pieces rather than assembled sections, improving both strength and precision while reducing production time and material waste.
The presence of Devendra Fadnavis at the ceremony reflects the importance of the project for Maharashtra’s industrial economy. Nagpur, which is rapidly developing as a centre for defence and logistics infrastructure, benefits from its proximity to key transportation networks and its positioning as an emerging hub for advanced manufacturing in central India.
Friday’s Bhoomi Pujan marks the formal commencement of what is expected to be a landmark addition to India’s defence industrial base.
