Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh :
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu virtually laid the foundation stones for a planned Drone City and twin Space Cities in Rayalaseema on the sidelines of the 30th CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.
The Drone City will occupy roughly 300 acres at the Orvakal industrial node in Kurnool district and is being positioned as a comprehensive hub for drone design, manufacturing, testing, certification and training. Plans include advanced manufacturing parks, R&D and training facilities intended to produce and certify thousands of drone pilots and specialists, while creating substantial direct and indirect employment in the region.
The twin Space Cities are proposed for Tirupati and Sri Sathya Sai districts, aiming to build a cluster around the state’s existing space ecosystem and attract private and public investments in satellite, launch and space services. Officials expect these initiatives to deepen Andhra Pradesh’s role in India’s growing space and aerospace sectors.
Speaking at the event, the Union Minister praised the chief minister’s earlier work in advancing the state’s information technology capacity and said the new projects extend that vision into drones, space and advanced technologies. He underscored the importance of domestic drone manufacturing and cited recent operational uses of drones as examples of their expanding role.
The state government has announced investor-friendly incentives to accelerate project commitments, including capital subsidies and mechanisms to refund state GST, designed to simplify approvals and reduce procedural uncertainty for investors. Officials framed these measures as signals to attract large-scale private participation.
Commitments made at the summit also include collaborations with several private technology and aerospace firms for both Drone City and Space City components, and plans to develop related talent centres, testing ranges and industry services that support start-ups and exporters.
Leaders described the projects as part of a broader strategy to position Andhra Pradesh as a technology and innovation hub and to generate jobs, spur regional industrial growth and support national goals for self-reliance in advanced technologies.
