Karnataka Plans To Set Up Defence Technology Hubs In State, Seeks Permission From Defence Ministry

Karnataka is planning to set up defence technology hubs in the state, leveraging the presence of major defence research labs and aerospace firms, state Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Thursday (17 June).

"We have written a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to permit us to set up defence technology hubs in the state, as we already have defence research labs of DRDO and aerospace firms like HAL in Bengaluru," said Shettar at a webinar.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has seven labs, of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), the Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) and the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) in the city.

Bengaluru is also host to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), the Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) and international aerospace firms like Rolls Royce, Airbus, Boeing, EADS and GE Aviation.

"As the Defence Ministry is promoting defence corridors in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, we are also keen to have a defence corridor in our state, which has an ecosystem to promote defence technology hubs with resources and manpower," said Shettar.

As the first to formulate an aerospace and defence policy, the state has set up an Aerospace Park at Devenahalli near the international airport for global aerospace and aviation firms.

"Our state has 25 per cent of the country's aircraft and spacecraft industries. About 70 per cent of military aircraft, including helicopters are made in the city for defence services, with components and subsystems from 2,000 micro, small and medium industries (MSMEs) in the state," said Shettar.

The southern state also accounts for 65 per cent of aerospace exports.

"Bengaluru is the only Indian city to feature in the top 10 global aerospace hubs ranked by the FDI index. In addition, Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, and Tumakur have the infrastructure and resources for setting up aerospace and defence units and promote self-reliance in the defence sector," he said.

Industries Commissioner Gunjan Krishna said the state has the ecosystem to promote the aerospace and defence industry, with an attractive investment policy.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)