HYDERABAD: Hyderabad, a missile hub, will get a fresh impetus for defence manufacturing following the announcement in the Union budget that 68 per cent of capital for defence sector will be earmarked for the local industry. This is 10 per cent up from what it was allocated previously.
“Hyderabad will be the natural choice for expansion plans of various aerospace and defence industry giants. The available infrastructure will spur further manufacturing by the existing units which are directly or indirectly related to the defence sector,” PA Praveen, director, aerospace and defence, government of Telangana, said.
A majority of defence industries are located in and around the city and closer to the Outer Ring Road. The new policies of the Centre will now give push for local manufacturing by units along the proposed Regional Ring Road.
“While we have demonstrated ease of doing business, what is also important is ‘ease of logistics’. Compared to other cities, Hyderabad has this advantage,” Praveen said. Because of the advantage Hyderabad has, some Bengaluru-based companies are looking at Hyderabad for their expansion plans.
There are an estimated 1,000 units in and around Hyderabad which are engaged in defence manufacturing.
The announcement that industry, start-ups and academia can participate in defence R&D with 25 per cent budget reserved for them is also something the industry is happy about.
