Mumbai, Jul 23: Tata Technologies today said it has joined hands with the Vidarbha Defence Industries Association (VDIA) for setting up an aerospace and defence centre in Nagpur. The partnership, supported by the Maharashtra government, will promote the state as an aerospace and defence manufacturing and export hub, a release said today. The MoU was signed in the presence of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the 'Made in Vidarbha Aerospace and Defence Summit' in Nagpur last week, it said.

Anand Bhade, president Asia Pacific, Tata Technologies, said, "Tata Technologies' unique offerings for aerospace and defence are perfectly aligned to VDIA's vision of creating a first-of-its-kind ecosystem to facilitate defence-integrated development by supporting the Indian aerospace and defence industry to be globally competitive."

The centre will help promote indigenous and modernised technological capabilities and develop skilled resources to support MSMEs to be globally competitive in the aerospace and defence sector, the release said.

This will be done by setting up 'NIRMAN', a not-for-profit common facilitation centre for aerospace and defence and 'UDAN', an initiative to create high-end skilling centres and provide competency-based education for engineering institutes and universities, it added.

Lt Gen (retired) Ravindra Thodge, the chairman of VDIA, said the objective is to create an aerospace and defence manufacturing hub in Nagpur and the Vidarbha region.

"Tata Technologies is well positioned to provide the right impetus to this initiative by leveraging their domain expertise," he added.