Chandrababu Naidu Proposes Shifting AMCA, LCA Production to Andhra Pradesh:

Suspense crime, Digital Desk : In a noteworthy development, The Economic Times has reported on May 24 that the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu has approached the Central government to relocate Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) production from Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu, who heads the BJP’s NDA allied party, TDP, has proposed to offer 10000 acres of land at Lepakshi-Madakasira industrial hub, which is geographically beneficial as it is only an hour from Bengaluru airport.

Blueprints for the New Defence Manufacturing Hub

This is part of Naidu's plans to make Andhra Pradesh the third state, after Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, to set up a major defense manufacturing corridor in India. The zone would span approximately 23000 acres in the state.

The report mentions that AMCA is India’s advanced fighter stealth combat aircraft being developed by HAL along with some private sector consortiums.

Enhancing The State's Defence Facilities

Besides the HAL production unit, Naidu has voiced his wish concerning:

An Indian Air Force base located at Donakonda

Facilities for testing naval armaments and military purpose equipment

Specific zones for the development of drones and for R&D in the defense sector

A Call for Assistance from the Center for the Revival of Andhra

In a statement made on May 23, Naidu claims that his administration is trying to mitigate the impact of the YSRCP government. He underlined that it might take close to 10 years to set the development pace for the state once again on track.

While on the trip to New Delhi, Naidu has interacted with some key Union Ministers like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Nirmala Sitharaman for providing central assistance towards the growth of Andhra Pradesh.

He has also spoken with the ministers like Pralhad Joshi (New & Renewable Energy), Ashwini Vaishnaw (Electronics & IT), C R Patil (Jal Shakti) and Jitendra Singh (Science & Technology) towards more holistic support for the development objectives of the state.