18th September: BEL is setting up a Bharat Electronics Limited Advanced Night Vision Products Factory at Nimmaluru in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh. Union Minister for Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for this facility in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, BEL said in a release.
The factory, coming up in 50 acres land, is likely to be completed by 2018 at a cost of Rs 300 crore and will generate employment for over 1200 people. It has a scope for further investment of up to Rs 1000 crore.
Once completed the facility will have state of the art infrastructure like assembly hangars, ultra-high clean rooms for assembly of devices, modern optical workshops with precision SPDT, CNC optical fabrication machines and high performance durable thin film. New products like IR seekers and missile warning systems, tank sights, weapons sights, thermal imager based multi-function sights, EO system for radar and AD guns, border surveillance system un-cooled TI weapon sights, night sights for CQB carbine, and compact multi-purpose stabilized systems for advanced light helicopters shall be designed and manufactured in this factory.
Andhra Pradesh, said Naidu, will become hub for manufacturing of defence products with over Rs 6,600 crore worth of defence projects sanctioned. He said that another defence project is in final stage of sanction to be set up Bobbili near Vizianagaram . The Union Minister pointed out that industrial development is as important as agriculture for development and they are like two eyes.
Also present on the occasion were Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, BEL Chairman and Managing Director S K Sharma, Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Sujana Chowdary, and member of parliament K Narayana.
Sharma added, “BEL is coming up with a modern Defence Systems Integration Complex at Palasamudram in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh”.
