HYDERABAD: IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, while addressing US diplomats and defence experts, presented Telangana’s case in being at the forefront of defence manufacturing and urged the government agencies from the North American country to engage with Telangana for investment. “In a short span of time, the State ecosystem has attracted large investments from US OEMs like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE Aviation, Pratt and Whitney, Honeywell and Collins Aerospace,” Rama Rao said while addressing stakeholders on the first day of the US-India Defence Ties Conference here on Wednesday.
The Industries minister cited the example of Lockheed Martin which started manufacturing C-130 empennages from Hyderabad. “Their entire factory was built in 11 months and production started in 13 months. They found the ease of establishing their factory in Hyderabad much smoother and faster than any of their other production site across the world,” he said. Rama Rao highlighted that manufacturing was export-oriented and was not linked to any offset or supply to Indian forces. “This shows how Hyderabad has evolved as a preferred low-cost manufacturing ecosystem for global production.”
Plans for aerospace varsity
Rama Rao also said that the defence manufacturing industry is supported by the available skilling industry. “Availability of abundant supply of highly skilled and industry-ready workforce has been a significant differentiator for Hyderabad. To make world-class skilling accessible at affordable rates, the State government has partnered with global institutions such as Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (US), Cranfield University (UK) and Aerocampus Aquitaine (France) to offer need-based Aerospace and Defence certification courses in Hyderabad at relatively affordable rates,” he said.
The minister said that the Telangana government was planning to establish a world-class aerospace university in the State. “I invite US defence majors and their training partners to be part of this initiative to create a large pool of skilled manpower for your own factories as well as your local supply chain partners,” he said. Meanwhile, US Consul General Joel Reifman lauded Rama Rao and the State government for TS-iPASS and for creating an environment that is conducive for the growth of the industry.