- Hyderabad’s Global Aerospace Story: Praveen PA on Telangana’s Winning Formula
- Why Global OEMs Choose Telangana: Inside India’s Fastest-Growing Aerospace Hub
- Drones, MRO, Space & Skilling: Telangana’s Blueprint for Aviation Leadership
By Sangeeta Saxena
Hyderabad. 31 January 2026. Telangana has emerged as one of India’s most critical hubs for the defence and aerospace ecosystem by combining decades of legacy defence manufacturing with a modern, innovation-driven industrial base. With Hyderabad at its core, the state hosts a dense network of public sector units, DRDO laboratories, global OEM joint ventures, and over 1,500 MSMEs that supply precision components and systems to aerospace, defence, space and aviation programmes worldwide. The ecosystem’s strength lies not just in platform manufacturing but in tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 capabilities in avionics, electronics, composites, materials, propulsion components and missile subsystems, many of which are exported.
The state’s proactive policies, world-class infrastructure, focus on skilling, drone and composite parks, and international partnerships with aerospace clusters in France, the UK and beyond have positioned it as a preferred destination for global aerospace majors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Safran, GE, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, Rafael and others. The state’s ability to integrate traditional defence expertise with emerging technologies in UAVs, AI, cyber and space startups makes it a pivotal contributor to India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision and its transition from a net importer to a leading exporter in defence and aerospace.
On the sidelines of Wings India 2026 at Begumpet, Aviation & Defence Universe (ADU) spoke with Praveen PA, Director – Defence & Aerospace, Government of Telangana, as Hyderabad hosted the show for the fifth time. From global OEM investments and record exports to skilling, drones, airports and ecosystem partnerships with France and beyond, Praveen detailed how Telangana has steadily evolved into India’s most mature aerospace and defence manufacturing hub—and why the state won the Best State for Promotion of Aviation Ecosystem award for a record fifth consecutive time.
ADU. We are meeting here at Wings India and it’s in your city, Praveen. So how does it feel? It’s the day three.
Praveen PA. This is the fifth time that Hyderabad is hosting Wings India. And this time I think the show has taken a greater height, larger participation. The stalls have fairly a world-class feel this time and the kind of craft which has come in. For the first time we have a Russian aircraft and first time HAL is displaying a commercial airline, which is again a major highlight for the show. And there’s great amount of interest in Indian civil aviation sector and almost all the key business leaders had come up. They participated in the CEO roundtable. There were several high-profile roundtables around aviation, aircraft manufacturing, drones, MROs, skilling, so multiple aspects related to the aviation sector were discussed at large. And the views of the industry was taken very seriously by the ministry as well as the other regulators. And a lot of reforms which were suggested is soon probably, you know, we’ll see that in the next coming years. I think we have a very progressive government and a minister who really follows through. So hopefully we’ll see whatever we discussed here will kind of come up. The air shows was a great attraction. We have Mark Jeffery and team, we have Suryakaran team and it has attracted a lot of crowd. Suddenly there’s a kind of a joy of festivity of aeroplanes flying all around Hyderabad. I think it’s been a fairly successful show for the city.
ADU. Congratulations on Telanga winning the best state award. The state is progressing indeed.
Praveen PA. This show, I mean, Wings India 2026 is also very special because it’s the fifth consecutive time that Telangana is winning a best state award from Ministry of Civil Aviation and FICCI. And this time the award is for the best state for promotion of aviation ecosystem, which has been fairly holistic growth that we have seen. And that’s a recognition to the growth that we see in the aerospace ecosystem, manufacturing side of things, as well as in the aviation side and cargo and all the other elements that come into it. So we have substantial progress recorded in this region. And the state also had handed over the Warangal Airport to Airport Authority of India for the next second airport, which is much awaited in the ecosystem. I think that’s, again, another major highlight for the state. There’s been a long desired promise for the people of Telangana to have a second airport. I think that’s something which will come. There were fairly good engagement from the industry. A lot more investment-related discussions has happened with companies and OEMs, and many more of the major programmes, the large MROs, as well as the manufacturing programmes announced by the various OEMs, irrespective of where the final assembly line is in Telangana or otherwise, it is generally understood that a large extent of the component manufacturing for all these programmes will be made from Hyderabad. So that’s, again, going to give a great fillip for the ecosystem. And the state is also planning to have a couple of Greenfield and Brownfield airports. And that’s, again, another, you know, we are really looking forward for the growth in the RCS routes, which is being planned, as well as, you know, having more airport connectivity and international roads which might get opened up soon.
ADU. Telangana does not have a coastline. Does that reduce naval sector opportunity and tilt more towards aerospace?
Praveen PA. See, every ecosystem has its strength and probably some of the shortfalls. So, yes, we don’t have a coastline. So, a large aspect of the maritime business probably may not be in Hyderabad, wherever a testing is required for supporting that. But there are significant amount of manufacturing of components and systems, subsystem level at Hyderabad, which is taken for integration to, you know, wherever the coastal hubs are. So, that certainly has not been a major hindrance for us because we have a fairly mature ecosystem and most of our industries are fairly dense in terms of the investment and employment per acre of land that is allotted by the government. And the historical background of Hyderabad being a defence hub, you know, we have seven, eight decades of defence manufacturing from here, large number of thousands. Even 10 years back, we had around 400 MSMEs supplying to aerospace defence and space, and today we have 1,500. So, there’s an organic growth. There’s a large inflow of OEM investments. Today, we have Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE, Honeywell, Safran, and OEMs like, you know, Pratt & Whitney, Collins, IAI, Elbit, Rafael, all of them have created multiple production lines, multiple joint ventures in the city. And most of these components, what is manufactured are exported. And something interesting is for the last couple of years, we’ve been growing at a 30% year-on-year growth. And last year, we had achieved 100% growth in the exports of defence and aerospace. And last year also, we broke the record when the defence and aerospace merchandise exports crossed that of pharma. Pharma was a very dominant industry in Telangana, and last year, aerospace and defence beat pharma to be the number one exporting sector. And that remains, continues to remain so even now.
ADU. What about land systems?
Praveen PA. Land system, we have the ordinance factory, which is here at Medak. But, you know, and they have a lot of suppliers who are part of it. We have, HAL has their avionics division, we have ECR. So, there are multiple elements at a system level, there are a lot of work happening. Platform level work, not much except in terms of the Medak. It also is because the concentration of the industry is mostly around Hyderabad, where the land is fairly pricey. And, you know, we have other hubs developed. Say, for example, HAL, Nasik, you know, there are historic hubs which is created elsewhere. So, it doesn’t need to be replicated here. Hyderabad has always been a missile hub. And all the missile, subsystem missile, MRO activities are based in Hyderabad. So, that’s our natural advantage. Some private sectors have also come up who are making platforms and vehicles for land forces and homeland security.
ADU. How does Telangana’s ecosystem go beyond the traditional silos of defence, aerospace, space and nuclear sectors?
Praveen PA. There’s a significant focus. See, when you look at the ecosystem, we normally consider it in silos, defence ecosystem, aerospace ecosystem, space ecosystem, nuclear ecosystem. But if you look at it, beyond the platform level, all the tier 1s, tier 2s, tier 3s are simply at various stages of precision engineering activity. So, each of them will pick up orders wherever it comes from. So, for me, my 1,500 numbered MSMEs are catering to all the sectors. This also means that this ecosystem can cater to any requirements important for national security. The skills available in Hyderabad are difficult to replicate because for 60–70 years, industrialisation has grown around DRDO labs and DPUs supplying to military-grade manufacturing. This low volume, high value, zero tolerance culture is ingrained in the workforce. That’s why it’s difficult for other clusters, like automotive clusters, to quickly adapt to aerospace-level standards. Here, for decades, this has been the culture.
ADU. How is Telangana leveraging this mature ecosystem to support emerging sectors like space, drones, AI and advanced manufacturing?
Praveen PA. Over time, this ecosystem has developed with multifaceted growth. We have strong electronic manufacturing, precision engineering and materials clusters. Telangana is the first state to come up with a composites park because composites are the material of the future for aviation. We are also a strong drone hub and the first state with a drone policy. The government has enabled real use cases like medicine and organ transport, surveillance during COVID, afforestation, mosquito control and mining monitoring. We are also upgrading ITIs and polytechnics into Advanced Technology Centres with Tata Technologies to prepare youth for Industry 4.0 jobs. There is strong focus on AI, cybersecurity and unmanned technologies. We are now using this same ecosystem to support nuclear and space aspirations, with startups like Skyroot and Dhruva Space demonstrating how Telangana-based industry is entering emerging tech supported by progressive policy, infrastructure and handholding.
ADU. What role have global partnerships and international collaborations played in strengthening Telangana’s aerospace and defence ecosystem?
Praveen PA. Telangana has focused heavily on ecosystem-level global partnerships. We have a long-standing relationship with Bordeaux Metropole in France, and recently signed an MoU with Aerospace Valley, which includes the Toulouse Airbus ecosystem and Bordeaux Dassault ecosystem. We brought French MRO training institute Aerocampus Aquitaine to Hyderabad for seven years to provide need-based training to industries. We also had partnerships with Cranfield University UK and other institutions for mid-career skill upgrades. Telangana regularly participates in global air shows and defence expos, often presenting case studies of how OEMs succeeded here. This attracted large delegations from France, Spain, Italy, Japan and the UK. Last year, over 100 French companies visited Telangana. These engagements helped diversify Telangana from a primarily US OEM hub to also a strong French, Israeli and Japanese partnership ecosystem.
ADU. How do you see Telangana’s growth story reflected in OEM investments and recognition at the national level?
Praveen PA. The Safran story is a great example. In 2018, Safran started with a small ₹60 crore electrical project. Within six years, this grew into a ₹450 crore aero engine parts facility, a ₹1,500 crore LEAP engine MRO, and now the Rafale M88 engine MRO — the first outside France — inaugurated by the Prime Minister. This single OEM brought over ₹2,000 crore investment and 2,000 high-value jobs. This model is being replicated with other OEMs. Since I joined in 2016, Telangana has won the Best State Award for aerospace and aviation ecosystem five consecutive times. This reflects strong policies, world-class infrastructure, ease of doing business, incentives and policy support that make Telangana globally competitive against hubs like Mexico, Malaysia and the Philippines. Year-on-year investments validate this, and it is personally gratifying to be part of this journey.
This Q&A captures Telangana’s aerospace, defence and aviation ecosystem exactly as articulated by Praveen PA at Wings India 2026, reflecting the maturity, export strength, OEM presence and policy-driven growth of the state.Telangana’s aerospace journey is a story of policy continuity, ecosystem maturity and global trust. From MSME growth and record exports to drone leadership, skilling innovation, airport expansion and international partnerships, Hyderabad has emerged as India’s most mature aerospace and defence manufacturing hub. Wings India 2026 and the fifth Best State Award stand as validation of this sustained transformation. It is definitely a state in spotlight.
As told to Sangeeta Saxena
