Telangana most suitable for defence investments: KTR

Hyderabad: Stating that Hyderabad is known as the Missile Hub of India, Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday said that Telangana was the most suitable region for defence investments.

He was speaking through video conference at a round table meeting of representatives of defence companies organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM). The minister explained the opportunities in defence manufacturing in Telangana.

Rao said Telangana was one of the States with the largest defence eco-system in the country; the defence eco-system here has expanded massively in the last seven years. More than 1,000 MSMEs were operating locally in the defence and aerospace sectors. The defence research and development sector in Telangana was very important, especially Hyderabad, which is known as the Missile Hub of India. Many public sector organisations in the defence sector, like DRDO, BELL, HAL were in the city.

The minister said after the State formation world famous aerospace and defence companies invested heavily. "It is not surprising that there is no other city in the world where leading OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) companies from the US, the UK, France, Israel and many others have invested so heavily in one place. Companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE, Safran and other famous defence and aerospace companies have their operations in the city.

The minister said the government identified space and defence sector as a priority sector. Necessary administrative reforms were undertaken to achieve investments. The government's TSIPASS policy, Hyderabad city's world-class infrastructure, skilled human resources and uninterrupted 24-hour industrial power supply appealed to representatives of defence companies to consider their investment plans.

KTR said Boeing company's innovation programmes and the Central government were also undertaking incubation programmes like IDEX under the Ministry of Defence. The State has unique aerospace defence industrial parks like Adibhatla, Nadargul, GMR Aerospace, Hardware Park, E-City and Industrial Park established by TSIIC in Ibrahimpatnam. He assured that the government would provide all possible support to investment companies coming to Telangana.