Nagpur Gets 10,000-Ton Aluminium Extrusion Press Plant for Defence Under Atmanirbhar Bharat
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone of a landmark Nagpur aluminium extrusion press defence project at Yantra India Limited’s Ambazari Ordnance Factory on June 19, 2026. The new facility will house a state-of-the-art 10,000-tonne capacity aluminium extrusion press that will produce high-quality aluminium alloys for India’s defence, aerospace, missile, and railway programmes. The project is a major step in reducing India’s dependence on imported aluminium components for strategic use.
What Is the Aluminium Extrusion Press Project?
The new plant at Ambazari Ordnance Factory will be one of the most powerful aluminium extrusion facilities in India. With a pressing capacity of 10,000 tonnes, it will be capable of producing high-grade aluminium alloy profiles used in the most demanding defence and aerospace applications.
Aluminium extrusion is a process that forces aluminium alloy through a shaped die to create complex cross-section profiles. These profiles are critical components in military aircraft, missile bodies, submarine structures, armoured vehicles, and advanced weapons systems. Until now, India has had to import a significant portion of these specialised aluminium components from abroad, making the supply chain vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions and pricing pressures.
The new Nagpur facility will change that by producing these components domestically, right in the heart of India’s growing defence manufacturing corridor.
Rajnath Singh’s Address at the Bhoomi Pujan
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the gathering at the Ambazari Ordnance Factory campus during the foundation stone ceremony. He stressed that India must have full control over critical defence requirements to be truly defence-ready and secure in the future.
He pointed to India’s remarkable growth in defence production as evidence of the country’s strategic shift. India’s defence production stood at approximately Rs 46,000 crore in 2014. By 2025-26, it had grown to Rs 1.78 lakh crore. Defence exports, which were just Rs 1,000 crore a decade ago, have now reached Rs 38,424 crore. The Nagpur plant is the next step in continuing this extraordinary growth trajectory.
CM Devendra Fadnavis on Nagpur’s New Role
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the ceremony and addressed the gathering. He described the project as a direct realisation of the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat. He stated that this new project will make Nagpur and the Vidarbha region a major centre of India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem.
Fadnavis invoked Operation Sindoor as a demonstration of India’s growing strategic capabilities on the world stage. He said the new India is moving forward with confidence, capability, and self-reliance, and that projects like the Nagpur aluminium extrusion plant are concrete proof of this transformation.
Which Defence Programmes Will Benefit?
The 10,000-tonne aluminium extrusion press will serve multiple critical sectors. In defence and aerospace, the facility will supply aluminium profiles for military aircraft structures, missile airframes, and advanced weapon system components. For the missile programme, it will produce high-precision extrusions required for India’s indigenous missile systems. In railway applications, it will support the production of lightweight aluminium components for high-speed trains and metro rail systems. Additionally, for strategic sectors, it will cater to naval and other defence requirements that currently depend on imports.
By producing all these components domestically, India will reduce its import bill significantly and eliminate the supply chain vulnerabilities that come with depending on foreign suppliers for critical military inputs.
Why Nagpur and Ambazari Ordnance Factory?
The choice of Nagpur as the site for this project is deeply significant. The Ambazari Ordnance Factory, operated by Yantra India Limited, is one of India’s established defence manufacturing facilities. Nagpur already hosts Solar Industries, a major private-sector defence manufacturer, and is rapidly emerging as a hub of India’s defence production ecosystem.
The city’s central location, strong rail and road connectivity, and the presence of established defence and engineering industries make it an ideal location for a facility that will supply components to defence plants and assembly lines across the country.
India’s Defence Production Transformation
The Nagpur aluminium extrusion plant is part of a wider, decade-long transformation of India’s defence industrial base. The Central Government has consistently pushed for greater domestic production, reduced import dependence, and increased private-sector participation in defence manufacturing.
The growth in India’s defence exports from Rs 1,000 crore to over Rs 38,000 crore in just ten years is a testament to how far the country has come. The Nagpur project represents the next phase of this journey — moving from assembling imported components to producing the raw materials and precision inputs that go into India’s most advanced defence systems.
