Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said that the state should have an aerospace and defense policy to attract huge investments in the defense and space sector. He set a target for the officials to attract investments ranging from Rs. 50,000 crores to Rs. 1 lakh crores in the next five years through the new policy.
He directed that plans should be drawn up for the establishment of aerospace and defense industries in various parts of the state cluster-wise. The CM conducted a high-level review on the Aerospace and Defense Policy 4.0 (2025-2030) at the Secretariat. He suggested that the state should try to become a center for new technology and innovations in the defense and aerospace sector.
The CM believed that India used modern technology in Operation Sindoor and that technology would play a major role in the coming days. He suggested that this type of technology should be used in defense as well as produced on a commercial scale and made useful in daily life.
He said that there are wide opportunities in the future regarding the country’s defense and internal peace and security, and the new policy should contribute to the establishment of industries in these sectors. AeroSpace and Defense Advisor Satish Reddy attended the review through video conference and made several suggestions.
The CM made it clear that MSMEs in the aerospace and defense sector should be specially encouraged compared to other states. For this, he suggested that a corpus fund of Rs. 100 crore per year be set up and a logistics subsidy should be included in the new policy.
He ordered that there should be a benchmark in the quality of products in the allied industries and that value addition should be done. He said that the naval cluster in Visakhapatnam- Srikakulam should be given top priority to missile and weapons products in the Jaggayyapet- Donakonda area, unmanned aircraft and drone manufacturing in Kurnool- Orvakallu, and aerospace and electronics industries should be given top priority in the Lepakshi-Madakasira cluster.
CM Chandrababu suggested that Tirupati should be developed as a research and development hub and a DRDO Center of Excellence should be established. Officials told the CM that Bharat Forge and MMW are ready to invest in the Madakasira cluster and the foundation stone will be laid soon.
Presently, 23 companies have invested Rs. 22,000 crore in the state’s aerospace and defense cluster, providing employment to 17,000 people. Ministers Kondapalli Srinivas, TG Bharat, and Commerce and Industry Secretary Yuvraj participated in this review.
