LUCKNOW, March 8 -- Over 56,662 acres of land across 33 villages are proposed for acquisition for the Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority (BIDA), as Uttar Pradesh accelerates its industrialisation drive in the region, the state government said on Saturday. Of the total, 35,298 acres have been approved for acquisition in the first phase and 21,364 acres in the second phase. More than 24,201 acres have already been acquired to fast-track industrial projects. Around 300 acres will be developed under the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation as part of the Delhi-Nagpur Industrial Corridor, linking Bundelkhand directly to one of the country's major industrial networks. The region is also set to host defence infrastructure, with a battle tank MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility and a combat vehicle manufacturing plant proposed on about 250 acres. The Jhansi node of the Defence Industrial Corridor has drawn major interest, with Goodluck Astra (around 247 acres, Rs 1,000 crore) and Redwood Hughes (around 247 acres, Rs 700 crore) among the leading proposals. Companies including Citadel and Gurutva have also shown interest in defence and allied manufacturing. The state government plans to offer large land parcels to investors at the upcoming fifth Ground Breaking Ceremony (GBC-5), focusing on regions that have received less investment. "The government wants to bring more investment into the Bundelkhand region, which is among the six nodes of the Defence Industrial Corridor," said Nand Gopal Gupta 'Nandi', industrial development minister. New concessions for entrepreneurs setting up units in B-category towns are also likely to be introduced at GBC-5. Uttar Pradesh has held two investor summits so far. The 2018 summit drew proposals worth Rs 4.28 lakh crore, while the 2023 edition recorded proposals of Rs 33.50 lakh crore. The Ground Breaking Ceremony mechanism has since been used to convert these proposals into grounded projects....