How Raymond’s Investment Could Shape Andhra Pradesh As India’s Next Aerospace & Defence Hub

Raymond Group believes Andhra Pradesh’s Valseema region has all the ingredients to emerge as a global aerospace and defence manufacturing cluster. Speaking to Business Today, Naveen Sharma, Chief Financial Officer of the Engineering Business at Raymond, explains how the group’s ₹510 crore investment in a state-of-the-art aerospace facility can help catalyse a broader industrial ecosystem in the region. Sharma highlights the region’s advantages, including availability of land, strong policy support, cost competitiveness and excellent connectivity across southern India. He points out that Valseema offers a rare opportunity to build a modern aerospace and defence cluster from the ground up, integrating digital manufacturing, advanced infrastructure and an end-to-end supply chain, rather than retrofitting legacy industrial zones. He adds that Raymond’s presence will help attract global OEMs, tier-one suppliers and ancillary vendors, creating a strong vendor base, large-scale employment and deeper global collaboration. Combined with Andhra Pradesh’s execution-driven governance and the growing aerospace corridor across southern India, the investment is expected to play a key role in shaping the region into a globally competitive aerospace and defence hub.