Context: The Defence Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister inaugurated India’s largest titanium and superalloy materials plant, operated by Aerolloy Technologies Limited (subsidiary of PTC Industries Limited).
More on News:
- They laid the foundation stones for additional advanced facilities under the country’s first Strategic Materials Technology Complex, located at the Lucknow node of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor.
- The newly inaugurated titanium plant, spanning 50 acres, boasts an annual production capacity of 6,000 tonnes, making it the world’s largest single-site facility for titanium remelting.
- It is equipped with cutting-edge technologies like Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR), Electron Beam (EB), Plasma Arc Melting (PAM), and Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM), the plant enables India to manufacture aerospace-grade materials domestically.
- Alongside the titanium plant, foundation stones were laid for seven additional advanced facilities. These include:
- An aerospace precision castings plant that will enable the production of single crystal castings—vital components for high-performance jet engines.
- An aerospace forge shop and mill products facility designed to eliminate the need for importing billets, bars, and plates for aerospace applications.
- An aerospace precision machining shop that will support the export of ready-to-assemble, ultra-precision CNC-machined components.
- Together, these facilities mark a significant step toward strengthening India’s self-reliance and global competitiveness in aerospace manufacturing.
- The strategic powder metallurgy facility is set to produce additive manufacturing-grade metal powders, positioning India among a select group of advanced nations in this field.
- The STrIDE Academy will serve as a hub for skill development in CNC machining, robotics, welding, and mechatronics, while the R&D Centre will focus on innovations in alloys and processing technologies.
- A collaboration with the UK’s Trac Precision Solutions will further support India in developing the capability to produce single crystal airfoils for jet engines.
- India’s annual imports of defence-grade materials—currently valued at ₹14,000 crore were projected to rise to ₹35,000 crore by 2026.
