02/03/2018
Minister KTR pitches for Defence corridor once again
Telangana has recognised that aerospace and defence sectors are among the core growth drivers. The State which has created the nation’s largest incubator ‘T-Hub’ and is creating ‘T-Works’ for prototyping, is keen to create a centre of excellence (CoE) for innovation in Hyderabad for pushing defence sector. Hyderabad has a best fitment to be a part of the Defence Industrial Production Corridor (DPIC) that the Centre has proposed, Telangana Industries Minister K T Rama Rao said, while inaugurating the Tata Boeing Aerospace facility at Adibatla on Thursday.
He appealed to the Union Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman that with the strong base that the State has created in the defence space, Hyderabad should be included in the proposed Rs 20,000 crore DPIC. He made a strong pitch for the corridor highlighting the advantages Telangana and its capital Hyderabad have for hosting such an infrastructure.
Telangana in over three years had been able to attract large scale original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the aerospace and defence sector. Companies such as Lockheed Martin, GE, Airbus, RUAG, Sikorsky, UTC, Honeywell and Boeing have chosen Hyderabad for their investments through collaborations with Indian entities.
KTR said, “Hyderabad hosts several defence PSUs that are supporting thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With the availability of skilled workforce in the State, Telangana is able to attract large companies in the sector. Telangana is leveraging the infrastructure that is available through two aerospace parks- one operating in Adibatla and the other being managed by GMR Group.”
Telangana has created the best industry policy in the nation that has helped it enable ease of doing business and the State will continue to leverage this advantage. Hyderabad has also topped the list of the Indian cities three years in a row on the Quality of Living index.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Defence, Government of India, said, “The manufacturing of advanced defence platforms and being integrated with the complex global supply chain will help our aerospace industry acquire technology, build local capability, provide employment and become a global exporter.”
Sitharaman said Centre has been pushing for manufacturing in the country both by domestic companies as well as global giants. Aerospace and defence sectors have seen the positive outcome already.
Emphasising the contribution of Tata Group to the growth of Indian economy, she said, Tatas had been the torchbearers for Indian enterprises. The Tata alliance with Boeing in Hyderabad will play a major role in Boeing’s global supply chain. The facility is creating local jobs in Telangana to many.
US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster, “US-based Boeing tying up with Indian conglomerate Tata shows how companies of both the nations can work together and how India and the US can strengthen their ties.”
“Telangana government has enabled the regulatory and investment climate for such joint ventures to flourish, which has resulted in the creation of this facility. This facility is a step towards making Apache Helicopter in India,” he added.
Juster emphasised that America First and Make in India are not incompatible and both the campaigns are in the interest of the nations and securing & creating new jobs. The new facility in Hyderabad will create more jobs and will help in meeting export requirements. The joint venture model established by Boeing and Tata can be replicated by other companies across sectors.
https://telanganatoday.com/ktr-pitches-defence-corridor
