"We are planning to come up with a defence manufacturing policy in the next three months," the Department of Industries' Principal Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said.
Odisha has been a leader in metals production and was now focusing on ancillary and downstream industries which could be beneficial to areas like defence and automotive, Chopra said.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's government has also been focusing on chemicals and petrochemicals, textiles and apparel, agro and sea food processing, electronics manufacturing and tourism, according to the official.
Odisha, which claims that cost of doing business in the state is 10-20 per cent less than its neighbouring states, remains bullish on the petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment region at Paradip, national investment and manufacturing zone at Kalinganagar and electronics manufacturing cluster in Bhubaneswar.
The state is also aspiring to be a major coastal economic zone with a coastline of 480 km, Chopra said. With the advantage of strategic locations, Odisha has also narrowed down its focus on the logistics sector.
"We are trying to give logistics a status of industry to promote private logistic parks in the state. For which we may have to amend the existing policy to give the logistics sector a status of industry," Chopra said.
He also said the state has been making efforts to bring investments from automotive players but it "has not made much headway".
Odisha has set a target to attract 2.5 lakh crore investments with an employment of 30 lakh new jobs by 2025.
"Through the centre, we aim to train 8,000 commercial pilots and 2,000 maintenance engineers over the next 10 years," an Airbus spokesperson told IANS at the Aero India air show.
However, the spokesperson did not disclose the investment being made by the company in the training centre.
The centre includes an A320 simulator for full-flight simulation and programmes on aircraft procedure training, computer-based classroom training and standard pilot transition training, the company said in a statement.
It also has an 'Upgrade to Command' course to improve the skills of the co-pilots.
The facility will complement Airbus India's training centre in Bengaluru which has trained over 4,500 maintenance engineers since its inception in 2007, the statement said.
"Providing a training infrastructure to support our customers' businesses is a priority for us," said Airbus India and South Asia President Anand E. Stanley in the statement.
The aerospace major assessed that India will need 25,000 additional pilots over the next 20 years to keep pace with the growing commercial aviation industry.
"Over 500,000 additional pilots will be required worldwide over the next 20 years," it added.
The delivery of the first batch of the AH-64E Apache helicopters to the IAF at the Hindan air base came nearly four years after a multi-billion dollar deal for the choppers was sealed.
Boeing said the first batch of the Apaches arrived in India and an additional four choppers will be delivered to the IAF next week.
"The eight choppers will then move to the Pathankot Air Force station for their formal induction by the IAF, in September," it said.
The AH-64E Apache is one of the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopters, and is flown by the US Army.
The IAF had signed a multi-billion dollar contract with the US government and Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 22 Apache helicopters.
Additionally, the Defence Ministry in 2017 approved the procurement of six Apache helicopters along with weapons systems from Boeing at a cost of Rs 4,168 crore for the Army. This will be its first fleet of attack choppers.
Senior IAF officials said the addition the Apache fleet will significantly enhance the force's combat capabilities as the chopper has been customised to suit IAF's future requirements.
"The arrival of the Apaches, ahead-of-schedule, validates Boeing's commitment to delivering on its promise of modernising India's defence forces. Boeing has ensured high rate of mission readiness and increased operational capabilities through its current partnerships with the IAF," Boeing said in a statement.
The company has delivered more than 2,200 Apaches to customers around the world since the aircraft entered production and India is the 14th nation to select it for its military.
"By 2020, the IAF will operate a fleet of 22 Apaches, and these first deliveries are ahead of schedule," Boeing said.
The aerospace major said the AH-64E has the latest technology insertions, maintaining its standing as the world's best attack helicopter.
The AH-64E Apache for the Indian Air Force completed successful first flights in July 2018. The first batch of Indian Air Force crew began their training to fly the Apache in the US in 2018.
"It is the only available combat helicopter with a spectrum of capabilities for virtually any mission requirement. For the AH-64 E, this includes greater thrust and lift, joint digital operability, improved survivability and cognitive decision aiding. It is uniquely suited to meet the commander's needs, including reconnaissance, security, peacekeeping operations, and lethal attack - in both land and littoral environments - all without reconfiguration," it said.
"The first of its kind partnership between a state-run enterprise and a leading private firm will help them to contribute towards indigenisation and 'make in India' initiatives in the manufacturing sector," said the city-based IT firm's subsidiary in a statement.
The tie-up will enable the partners to work on projects, products, systems, services in defence, state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Labs, defence public sector undertaking and other state-run entities.
"The focus area will be aerospace components and parts through the special economic zone (SEZ), metal additive manufacturing and design optimisation for critical aggregates, legacy components and spares and process automation," it said.
The agreement was signed by Wipro arm's Chief Executive Pratik Kumar and BEML Chairman D.K. Hota.
"BEML has a lineage of being a heavy engineering company. Given our focus on emerging technologies, like 3D printing and industrial automation, and sectors, such as aerospace, space and defence, we see synergies in partnering with the defence behemoth," said Kumar.
Wipro's engineering subsidiary has domain expertise in hydraulics, industrial automation, aerospace, water treatment and additive manufacturing.
"Our partnership with Wipro arm provides us access to their capabilities, experience, and skill. It enhances the business interests of both organisations," said Hota.