Andhra Pradesh to set up India’s first electric air taxi manufacturing hub

Andhra Pradesh has signed an MoU with Bengaluru-based Sarla Aviation to set up India’s first giga-scale electric air-taxi manufacturing hub. The agreement was announced at the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam. It marks one of the state’s biggest steps into next-generation aviation and urban air mobility.

The upcoming facility will be built on a 500-acre site in the Anantapur district. Sarla Aviation will invest ₹1,300 crore in the first phase. The MoU was handed over by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and State Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy.

Biggest “Sky Factory"

Sarla Aviation calls the project the world’s biggest “Sky Factory." It aims to create a place where India can design, build, test, certify and operate next-generation aircraft, all on one campus.

Full ecosystem for eVTOL manufacturing

The campus will house a complete ecosystem for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Planned facilities include:

• Composite manufacturing units
• Powertrain and avionics lines
• India’s largest wind tunnel
• Simulation labs and pilot-training centres
• MRO facilities
• A two-kilometre runway and VTOL testing pads

Once the plant is fully operational, it will be able to produce up to 1,000 eVTOL aircraft each year.

Focus on skilling and operational capability

The project aligns with the national Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Andhra Pradesh’s Swarna Andhra 2047 plan. The state expects the hub to create high-skill jobs and support the growth of new aerospace supply chains.

Sarla Aviation says the site will not only focus on manufacturing but also help build India’s operational and training capabilities for future air-taxi services.

Strategic step for India’s aviation sector

Andhra Pradesh is the first state in India to commit to a giga-scale air-mobility manufacturing hub. The project is expected to:

• Strengthen domestic aerospace production
• Reduce reliance on imported components
• Support innovation in electric and hybrid aviation
• Encourage development of vertiports and air-mobility corridors

Experts note that eVTOL certification is still evolving worldwide, but India’s integrated approach could help it move faster when standards mature.