Telangana has most vibrant aerospace ecosystem in India: Sridhar Babu

Hyderabad: Minister for IT and Industries D Sridhar Babu said Telangana has the most vibrant aerospace ecosystem in the country.

Sridhar Babu on Wednesday participated in the Aatmanirbhart in defence takes wings as Adani Defence & Aerospace unveiled its indigenously manufactured Drishti 10 Starliner Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for the Indian Navy at Adani Defence and Aerospace Center, Shamshabad, on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister stated that the Aerospace, Aviation and Space industries are a thrust sector for Telangana and the State government has several Aerospace and allied parks to host aerospace manufacturing, servicing, engineering and training firms.

"The State industrial policy is hailed as the most industry-friendly policy and it has over 1000 MSMEs in Aerospace and allied sectors. Telangana periodically hosts supply chain events with OEMs to onboard local MSMEs into the global aerospace supply chain. Moreover, the Telangana has attracted multiple mega-investments from Global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE Aviation, Safran, Rafael Advanced Systems, Elbit Systems, etc. Each of these global investors has committed repeat investments every few years," he pointed out.

He reminded that the Telangana State had won the biennial Best State Awards for Aerospace from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, consistently thrice in a row (2018, 2020, and 2022) and the State was ranked No. 1 in the sector for the reference period of 2016-2020. The Minister said that Hyderabad won Rank No. 1 in Financial Times FDA Global Rankings, recognized as the most cost-effective Aerospace city of the future (2020-21).

Adani Defence & Aerospace has chosen Hyderabad as their first location for setting up their defence capabilities. In a short span of 10 months, they established the first carbon aerostructures manufacturing line for UAVs. On Wednesday, Adani engaged with more than 25 suppliers in Hyderabad.

Adani is one of the largest DcPP partners for DRDO; they have been awarded seven prestigious missile programs. Hyderabad is selected to become the production center for these missiles going forward.

Adani has facilitated exports in defense from Hyderabad, having exported 20+ unmanned aerial systems to international markets. Adani has been playing a critical role in the Indian defense sector and Make in India initiatives.They are planning to further ramp up investments and allied capabilities in the State in Defense and Aerospace manufacturing.

"The State government will welcome these investments and assure the Adani Group of all support for their projects in Telangana. We will create an ecosystem where a level playing field shall be facilitated for the players in aerospace or any other sector, contributing to our State's progress and development," Sridhar Babu said.