World acknowledges Telangana’s aerospace prowess, Centre does not

The United States officially acknowledge Telangana’s position as the ‘most vibrant aerospace and defence ecosystem in India’, but the union government led by the BJP is continuing to look elsewhere, refusing to support the State.

Hyderabad: Even as world powers like the United States officially acknowledge Telangana’s position as the ‘most vibrant aerospace and defence ecosystem in India’, the union government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party is continuing to look elsewhere, refusing to support the State.

It was not long ago that the International Trade Administration (ITA), which functions under the aegis of the United States Department of Commerce, organized an Aerospace Trade Mission to New Delhi and Hyderabad with optional stops in Bangalore or Mumbai between September 19 and 23. The objective was to introduce U.S. companies to India’s aerospace ecosystem and facilitate the companies in finding business partners and exporting their products and services to the region.

---

As part of the mission, the participating firms and organizations were offered market insights, besides industry contacts and help to firm up business strategies. The trade mission saw 13 aerospace companies from the US visiting the city on September 21 to explore Telangana’s aerospace ecosystem and met potential business partners.

While Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, or Kolkata were offered as optional stop opportunities, only New Delhi and Hyderabad were the confirmed stopovers and where the visitors ultimately went to. The ITA website, giving detailed information on the options in Hyderabad (https://www.trade.gov/aerospace-trade-mission-india), says ‘Telangana has emerged as the most vibrant aerospace and defense ecosystem in India’.

“Hyderabad has been a strong defense manufacturing hub with over a dozen major DRDO labs (Defence Research and Development Organization) and defense PSU (Public Sector Undertaking Units) in the region. There are also large private companies and over 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises working in the aerospace sector,” it said, going on to say that the State has attracted large investments from global original equipment manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and GE Aviation.

“Among strategic Indian players, TATA Group currently runs over 90 percent of its aerospace manufacturing from Hyderabad. Adani Group and Kalyani Group also established various projects though foreign joint ventures. Hyderabad also houses GMR Aero Technic, the largest private MRO player in the country,” the website says.

While this is the recognition Hyderabad gets from countries like the United States and others, the union government apparently remains oblivious to these credits. Worse, it continues its discrimination towards Hyderabad by allotting a Defense Corridor between Bundelkhand of the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with an investment of nearly Rs.20,000 crore. This, despite repeated requests from Telangana, pointing out that the State was home to DRDO and several other defense establishments.

The State government had on multiple occasions urged the BJP-led Centre to set up an Defence Industrial Production Corridor between Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Speaking at a Confederation of Indian Industry programme earlier this year, Industries Minister KT Rama Rao had said Telangana had requested that the corridor be set up between Hyderabad and Bengaluru as both cities have defence public sector undertakings and aerospace and defence ecosystems in place. However, the union government had decided it would go to Uttar Pradesh.