Aerospace and defence companies have evinced interest to set up manufacturing units in Andhra Pradesh after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met CEOs of 11 companies and made a power point presentation to several others during the Aero India 2015 show in Bangalore on Thursday.

The Chief Minister had one-on-one meetings with Russia’s Sukhoi delegation, Sikorsky and UTC executives, Rafael and Elbit delegation, Boeing International Corporation India Pvt. Ltd executives, delegates from Raytheon International Inc., Bell Helicopter India, Honeywell India, GE Aviation and, delegates from the American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM - India) and the U.S.-India Business Council, according to an official press release from the Chief Minister’s office.

During his power-point presentation to 175 CEOs and industrialists, he explained the opportunities for aviation and defence players and elaborated the State government’s plans to establish defence and aerospace hubs in Chittoor, Anantapur, Kadapa, Kurnool and Prakasam districts.Stating that Andhra Pradesh has reduced the tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel from 16 per cent to one per cent, he said "We are also promoting Greenfield and brownfield airports and are giving full support to allied sectors like MRO, cargo, general aviation and training,".

Stating that Andhra Pradesh would develop cargo and MRO infrastructure as a priority, the Chief Minister said the state was focusing on developing cargo infrastructure at new airports and improving connectivity between ports, airports and logistics hubs.