Amit Shah says UP-made BrahMos missiles and AK-203 rifles are keeping Pakistan awake
Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that missiles and rifles produced in Uttar Pradesh are giving Pakistan sleepless nights, underscoring the state's growing defence sector at a trade show.
Speaking at the inauguration of the fourth UP International Trade Show at the India Expo Centre and Mart, Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized Uttar Pradesh's accelerating defence manufacturing capabilities. He pointed to BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles assembled at the Lucknow integration and testing centre and AK-203 assault rifles produced in Amethi as weapons that are causing "sleepless nights" for Pakistan and for Naxalite and terrorist elements.
Shah announced that investments are flowing into all six nodes of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor—Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Lucknow, Agra, Aligarh and Kanpur—creating an ecosystem of ancillary firms and skilled jobs. The BrahMos facility, built with roughly ₹300 crore on 200 acres, dispatched its first missile batch in October 2025. He linked the defence push to broader economic policies, free-trade agreements and the One District, One Product initiative aimed at retaining youth employment. The trade show expects over 2,400 exhibitors and more than 550 international buyers from 85 countries.
Why it matters
The story shows India's expanding indigenous defence production and its impact on regional security and local employment.
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTBoth camps report Shah’s claim that UP-made BrahMos missiles give Pakistan sleepless nights, but left-leaning coverage emphasizes defence manufacturing capacity and job creation, while centrist coverage adds celebratory language about India’s overall progress, FTAs and critics with a “jaundiced view.”
LEFT
Left-leaning coverage frames the story as a showcase of Uttar Pradesh’s expanding defence production and its strategic impact.
CENTER
Centrist coverage frames the story as a broader celebration of India’s economic and strategic progress and a rebuke of detractors.
The left emphasises
- accelerating defence manufacturing capabilities
- creating an ecosystem of ancillary firms and skilled jobs
- weapons causing "sleepless nights" for Pakistan and for Naxalite and terrorist elements
In this story
