Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Missile Test Range at Nagayalanka in Andhra Pradesh, worth around Rs 1,460 Crore..
Prime Minister, who was on a visit to Andhra Pradesh on 2 April 2025, also laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development projects worth over Rs 58,000 crore in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh.
He came to Andhra Pradesh after commissioning the country’s first transhipment and semi-automatic Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport in Kerala.
India has two functional missile testing ranges at Chandipur and Wheeler's Islands near the coast of Odisha. These missile sites are not equipped to test missiles, which DRDO is developing under phase 2 of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD).
Considering the DRDO's requirement, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved a new missile testing site at Nagayalanka in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.
The Nagayalanka missile testing range has a history of facing various obstacles. The new missile testing site is within the Krishna River delta in the Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.
The area is rich in mangrove forests, and the missile site construction will destroy 155 hectares of them.
The area is also believed to have oil and gas reserves.
The Union Petroleum Ministry approved the project in 2012. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest cleared the proposal, and DRDO planned to start construction in 2013.
However, the Environment Ministry’s clearance was challenged in the Supreme Court on the ground that it would destroy the mangrove forest.
After the approval of the Supreme Court, the Cabinet Committee on Security finally gave its approval in 2024.’
Phase 1 of the DRDO’s BMD is operational.
Phase -2
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