BrahMos built in U.P. keeps Pakistan awake, Shah says at trade show

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that BrahMos missiles manufactured in Uttar Pradesh were causing "sleepless" nights for Pakistan, describing the shift as the clearest evidence of the state's transformation. He was speaking at the opening of the fourth Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show in Greater Noida.

Mr. Shah, who also holds the Cooperation portfolio, said the AK-203 assault rifle produced in Amethi had become a weapon against "Naxalites and terrorists". He recalled the use of BrahMos during Operation Sindoor, which he linked to avenging civilian killings in Pahalgam.

Turning to the economy, the Home Minister dismissed critics' doubts and said India had not merely held its growth rate but advanced it despite global turbulence. He said the country recorded 7.8 per cent growth and remained the fastest-growing major economy, pointing to rising electronics exports, semiconductor investment, capital expenditure and record GST collections.

He listed free trade agreements signed with Mauritius, the UAE, Austria, a four-nation European grouping, the UK, Oman, New Zealand and the European Union, saying these had widened export opportunities for Indian businesses.

On Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Shah said six nodes of a defence corridor are being developed in Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Lucknow, Agra, Aligarh and Kanpur, drawing investment in defence equipment manufacturing. He said national defence production has crossed roughly Rs 1.78 lakh crore, exports have risen 56 times since 2013-14, and Indian defence products now reach about 80 countries, with the state contributing significantly.

He credited the One District One Product initiative with creating employment in India's most populous state, saying young people who once left in search of work now find jobs locally. He cited Bhadohi carpets, Moradabad brassware, Firozabad glass, Saharanpur woodcraft, Kannauj perfume and Banarasi silk sarees as products that had gained national recognition.

Mr. Shah contrasted the state's present investment climate with the past, claiming an earlier era of crime had given way to defence manufacturing, vehicle production and medical-device manufacturing. He said an investment conference had to be held in Delhi in 2013 because investors were unwilling to come to Lucknow due to law and order concerns, and attacked previous Samajwadi Party and BSP governments on the issue. He described Uttar Pradesh today as a fear-free investment destination and an engine of national development.

Noting that September 25 marked 12 years since the Make in India initiative was announced, he said the country had moved from the "Fragile Five" to the world's top five economies, and that the trade show carried forward the same vision. He also remembered Deendayal Upadhyay on his 110th birth anniversary, crediting him with early ideas on free trade and free agriculture and with laying the foundation of organisation-based politics that later became the BJP. Mr. Shah said the Prime Minister's resolve for India to be first in every field by August 15, 2047, would be fulfilled.