Rajnath Singh inaugurates BrahMos production unit
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday virtually inaugurated the BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility at the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor here.
The Rs 300 crore facility is a key part of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor and represents India's commitment to self-reliant defence manufacturing, the Ministry of Defence said.
"It includes not only missile production but also testing, integration, and a materials complex for aerospace-grade components. A major leap toward #AtmanirbharBharat and a strategic boost to regional industrial growth," the Ministry of Defence said on X.
The Uttar Pradesh government had said the facility will manufacture one of the world's fastest supersonic cruise missiles, with a range of 290 to 400 km and a top speed of Mach 2.8.
The missile, a product of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India and Russia, can be launched from land, sea, or air and uses a "fire and forget" system.
Completed in three-and-a-half years, the BrahMos production unit in Lucknow is spread over 80 hectares of land provided free of cost by the Uttar Pradesh government, the state government had said in the statement.
The UP Defence Industrial Corridor, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, has six nodes --- Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot -- where major investments are being made to boost defence manufacturing.
Uttar Pradesh is the second state after Tamil Nadu to establish a Defence Industrial Corridor, it added.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
