Tamil Nadu has begun lobbying hard with the defence minister for a slice of action when it came to manufacturing for defence and has sought the setting up of different projects in the state that will generate employment to thousands of youth.

The government is ready to tinker with its policies as also is about to come out with its own policy on aerospace and defence.

Announcing this, chief minister Edapaddi Palaniswami said on Thursday that the government was about to come out with an exclusive Aerospace and Defence policy with an objective of securing 30 per cent of the share in the sector, which will also create high-end employment opportunities for one lakh people in Tamil Nadu.

Addressing an industry meeting organised by the union Defence Ministry here, the chief minister said, development of Chennai Aerospace Park at Sriperumbudur near here is one such initiative to start with. It is being set up in 250 acres in the first phase and it would double to 500 acres in size in the next phase. It will have at least 50 aerospace or defence companies forming a strong base for supporting large original equipment manufacturers, Palaniswami said.

The government will also set up a Maintenance Repair Overhauling complex for aircrafts near Chennai. Advanced Computing and Design Engineering Centre (ACDEC) is coming up in 500,000 sq.ft. at an estimated cost of Rs.180 crore, for this project.

The chief minister also sought the cooperation of defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to locate a manufacturing facility for HAL light combat aircrafts and helicopters in Tamil Nadu as also a military MRO base at Sulur Air Force Station in Coimbatore. T

The Chief Minister said MSMEs should come forward to take up large projects and programmes from Defence forces, DRDO, ISRO and other Central Defence PSUs. The State Government will readily support such moves, he said.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a plan was proposed to develop a corridor for defence segment in South India, with L&T Shipbuilding facility at Kattupalli, the six Ordinance Factories in Tamil Nadu, the small manufacturers cluster in Coimbatore and Hosur and the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in Bengaluru.

She announced that the biannial event of Defence Expo will be held in Chennai this year. The event, which is delayed, will be held from April 11 to 16, in a place provided by the state government between Chennai and Mahabalipuram, she said.

Usually it is held at the end of February in Delhi.