HYDERABAD: The Tata Group has plans to develop Hyderabad as its aerospace and defence business hub, said group chairman Ratan Tata. He was here on Sunday to unveil the first Sikrosky S-92 helicopter cabin made in India by Tata Advance Systems (TASL).

For Tata Group, aerospace and defence are larger and newer areas. Going ahead, we hope that our aerospace and defence investments are centered in AP, particularly around Hyderabad. The current tie up with Sikrosky is the beginning, he said.

He said the late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy had earlier offered Tata Motors land to set up a manufacturing plant for Nano. While the group had not accepted the offer then, it had made promises to make substantial investments in the state.

TASL has invested around 1,000 crore towards the manufacturing unit for Sikrosky cabins. The first cabin will be exported to the US by this month end. It is an important milestone for the company's plans in the aerospace industry. It reflects the determination, project execution and precision-manufacturing expertise that India as a nation possesses, Mr Tata added. Source: ET 8/11/10