‘Peace Weapon’ Kalashnikov proposes to set up plant in Gandhi’s Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: The AK-47 assault rifle, the first choice for peace-keepers as well as a deadly weapon for terror groups across the globe, is all set to fire rounds of production in Gujarat.

Industry department sources confirmed that the machine gun makers Kalashnikov Concern has approached the state government with a proposal to set up a plant in Gujarat, in line with the liberalized defence manufacturing policy.

Kalashnikov officials recently met key state officials for preliminary discussions. "They will visit again during Vibrant Gujarat summit in January 2015 and hopefully seal the deal," said a senior official.

The development comes in the backdrop of Russia expressing keen interest in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' campaign. Apart from oil and gas, agro-processing and logistics, defence products manufacturing is a key area where investments could flow. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit India on December 10 and 11.

Kalashnikov, founded in 1947, is headquartered in Izhevsk, Russia. Currently, AK guns and its variants are manufactured in over 32 countries. Over 100 million AKs are pegged to be in use across the world. It has been recently rebranded as 'Kalashnikov Concern' — positioning it as a weapon of peace and calm.

The company has also inquired about the legal formalities and other incentives, including financial, the state government could provide. "They have also inquired about land which will have a testing range as well," said a source.

The state government has referred the proposal from Kalashnikov to the Centre. The Union Cabinet recently approved raising FDI limit in the defence sector to 49%.