Hyderabad: The defence and aerospace manufacturing ecosystem in Telangana has witnessed remarkable growth, expanding from approximately 400 MSMEs in 2016 to nearly 1,500–2,000 today. Industry leaders and government officials convened at the second Defence MSME Manufacturers Forum organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on Saturday, emphasising the need for stronger policy support, improved infrastructure access and greater involvement of smaller manufacturers to position India as a global defence production hub. The forum was held under the theme Make in India for the World: Empower MSMEs for India’s Defence & Aerospace Future.
Praveen P.A., director of the state’s aerospace and defence unit, highlighted that Telangana focused on building a comprehensive ecosystem rather than relying solely on domestic defence orders. The state has successfully attracted investments from major global companies including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE Aerospace, Airbus, Pratt & Whitney and Safran. Notably, Safran alone has invested approximately ₹2,500 crore in Hyderabad over the past six years, creating nearly 2,000 jobs in the process. This strategic approach has enabled the state to develop a robust manufacturing base supporting both domestic and international aerospace requirements.
Commodore P.R. Hari (Retd.), chairman and managing director of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd and chairman of ICC’s national expert committee on defence, aerospace and space, shared that India’s defence production has surged from ₹46,429 crore in 2014–15 to ₹1.78 lakh crore in 2025–26. Defence exports have similarly increased from ₹1,941 crore to ₹38,424 crore, representing a nearly 30-fold growth, with Indian defence products now reaching more than 80 countries. However, he pointed out that despite these encouraging figures, India still contributes only 0.3 to 0.4 per cent of the global defence export market and remains among the world’s largest defence importers.
Krishna Aditya, special secretary for industries and commerce, announced that the Telangana government is identifying dedicated aerospace, defence and space industrial parks equipped with common testing facilities. He encouraged MSMEs facing challenges related to land allocation, incentives or infrastructure to directly approach the government for support. Nikhil Chakravarthy J., director of industries and commerce, noted that Telangana’s network of DRDO laboratories, defence public sector undertakings and global manufacturers has helped establish one of India’s strongest aerospace ecosystems, with 1,500–1,700 MSMEs now actively supporting the sector. He urged companies to utilise schemes such as iDEX, Aditi, T-Works and state incentives for new product development.
The ICC report titled ‘MSMEs – A Force Multiplier for India’s Defence Ecosystem, Edition 2’ identified several challenges hindering further growth, including slow procurement processes, inadequate testing and certification infrastructure, limited access to finance, delayed payments and difficulties in scaling innovations from prototypes to commercial production. The report recommends expanding common testing and certification facilities as strategic national infrastructure, establishing dedicated financing mechanisms for defence MSMEs and start-ups, simplifying procurement procedures and creating export-oriented manufacturing clusters. Vishnu Malpani, executive director of Azad Engineering, questioned why India continues to be perceived primarily as a source of labour arbitrage when the country possesses some of the finest engineering talent globally, emphasising that aerospace and defence sectors ultimately reflect a nation’s engineering capability and self-reliance.
