By The Hindu Bureau

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The Telangana government is working on a vision to position the State as the aerospace capital of the country, IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu said on Friday.

Stating that the foundation laid for the aerospace ecosystem six decades ago was behind the emergence of the State as a major force, the Minister said on the lines of the Adibatla Aerospace Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the government is preparing plans for a Phase-2 Aerospace and Defence Cluster of international standards.

A dedicated Aerospace MSME Park is also being planned. Telangana is aiming to shape Hyderabad into a green aviation hub, supporting innovations in drone technology and green aviation fuels, Mr. Sridhar Babu told aerospace entrepreneurs and experts at a meeting organised at the Secretariat in collaboration with the FICCI Telangana Aerospace and Defence Committee.

He said towards ensuring seamless industrial development of the proposed facilities, a special task force comprising officials, industry leaders and experts would soon be set up to monitor approvals and resolve bottlenecks.

He also urged industry to partner with the government in addressing the shortage of skilled manpower by adopting ITIs and polytechnic colleges. The discussions focused on strengthening the State’s aerospace ecosystem, strategies for future growth and policy measures required to capture global opportunities, the Minister’s office said in a release on the meeting.

Elaborating on the foundation laid for the aerospace ecosystem six decades ago, Mr. Sridhar Babu said, “Hyderabad hosts over 30 aerospace and defence OEMs and more than 1,000 MSMEs. DRDO, HAL, GMR, Tata, Adani-Elbit, Safran and the Boeing–TASL JV are present in the State. Our aerospace exports have crossed ₹28,000 crore. With comprehensive planning, we are determined to make Telangana the country’s aerospace capital.”