Bengaluru, Feb 7 (IANS): As many as 34 aerospace and defence firms have shown interest in investing in Karnataka to spur aviation business in the southern state, an official said on Sunday.

"In all, 34 aerospace and defence firms have signed an agreement with the state government to invest a total of Rs 2,464 crore in setting up their facilities, which have the potential to create 6,462 direct jobs," an official of the Industry Department's Udyog Mitra told IANS here.

The agreements were signed at the 13th edition of Aero India 2021 expo at the Yelahanka airbase on the city's outskirts on February 3-5.

Among the firms are Abhyuday Bharat defence cluster with an investment proposal of Rs 1,000 crore, Gopalan Aerospace Ltd (Rs 438 crore), Alpha Design Technology and Tesbl Aerospace Corporation (Rs 250 crore each).

"We have a vibrant aerospace and defence sector ecosystem, which enabled the state to contribute 65 per cent of exports from the country. The proposed investing firms will attract others to invest in the aerospace sector," said state's Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar in a statement on the occasion.

As the country's aerospace hub, Bengaluru is home to several state-run and private firms such as the defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), BEL, BEML, NAL, DRDO, ADA, ADE and ISRO.

"With an investor-centric approach, our new industrial policy (2020-25) offers incentives for investing in the state, with regulatory reforms for access to land and labour," asserted Shettar.

The recent Innovation Index of the policy think tank NITI Aayog has ranked Karnataka on top, indicating the state's strengths in human resources, higher education, thrust on research and development, with a conducive investment climate and a pro-active administration.

Bengaluru is also home to a quarter (25 per cent) of the country's aircraft and spacecraft industries, which roll out 67 per cent of planes and helicopters for defence services.

With a dedicated aerospace policy, the state also has an ancillary ecosystem for the industry to support state-run defence units, R&D centres, scientific and technical institutes and 2,000 small, micro and medium enterprises.