Karnataka to set up 200-acre defence electronics park, 100-acre avionics and sensor park, says Industries Minister Patil

Karnataka is planning to establish a dedicated 200-acre defence electronics park and a 100-acre avionics and sensor park, Industries minister MB Patil said on Tuesday.

The announcement came after Patil chaired meetings of the Vision Group, a body of experts tasked with charting the future trajectory of key industries and identifying measures the government needed to take, the Industries ministry said in a press statement.

"These projects will be implemented once the special investment region comes into existence. There will be no difficulty in making land available for these initiatives," Patil said.


The meeting was attended by industries department principal secretary S Selvakumar, commissioner Gunjan Krishna, Invest Karnataka Forum CEO Jyotsna, and Udyoga Mitra MD Doddabasavaraju, with some industrialists and their representatives participating virtually.

Establishing testing centres and common facilities for aerospace and defence industries also came up for discussion. Patil said these facilities would be provided and called for a comprehensive roadmap for the growth of these sectors.

The state has already urged the union government to approve defence corridor projects in the Bengaluru North–Kolar–Chikkaballapur and Dharawada–Vijayapura–Belagavi regions, said the statement. Industrialists also said there was potential for a similar corridor between Bengaluru and Mysuru.

With Suzuki and Toyota set to launch aerial taxi services in Japan by 2028, and Bengaluru-based Sasmos already supplying electrical equipment for the project, industrialists said similar fly-taxi services could be introduced in Bengaluru by formulating an appropriate policy. "This will be examined seriously," Patil said.

The minister said the Tata Group was currently manufacturing electric buses in Dharwad and supplying them across the country. The company was also preparing to begin production of mini excavators, he said, adding that suitable arrangements would be made to facilitate their export.

In the green energy sector, the need for a suitable policy for battery-based energy storage and the establishment of data centres came up for discussion. The government would seriously consider all suggestions and respond positively, Patil said.