Telangana minister KT Rama Rao slams Centre for overlooking Hyderabad as defence production corridor

Hyderabad: Telangana’s Industries Minister KT Rama Rao slammed the Centre for overlooking Hyderabad and Bengaluru as an option to set up a defence industrial production corridor on December 4. He said that the Centre is ignoring these two options because of “petty political and geopolitical considerations”.

KTR said that he had urged former Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to set up defence industrial production corridor between Hyderabad and Bengaluru. He noted that these two cities were ideal for such a project.

KTR was a bit baffled when he came to know that the Centre decided to set-up one defence production corridor in Uttar Pradesh and another in Chennai. While speaking to the media, the Telangana minister said, “I was a bit baffled and wanted to know the grounds for this decision. They gave some reason which made no sense.”

He said that it couldn’t be Uttar Pradesh because it is a large state in India with 80 parliamentary seats, which is not suitable for a defence ecosystem. He was speaking at the Defence Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in the city. KTR said, “Unfortunately, it appears to me, in matters of national importance and even in matters of strategic sectors like defence and aerospace, sometimes regional compulsions outweigh nationally important locations.”

He also said that the Centre should review its strategy, as it will spend billions to encourage defence production capabilities in the country.