Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran (left) and Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer (right) at the groundbreaking ceremony for the aircraft manufacturing plant in transport C-295 in Vadodara
Ajai Shukla
Trade standard
New Delhi, October 30
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday he could foresee that India would soon manufacture large passenger jets that would proudly bear the “Made in India” label. He was speaking at the foundation stone ceremony for the Tata-Airbus C295 aircraft manufacturing plant in Vadodara, Gujarat. The Rs 22,000 crore project is seen as a victory for Gujarat ahead of Assembly elections in the state.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said: “India is moving forward with the mantra of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’….. The C-295 aircraft would boost the logistics capability of the ‘Indian Air Force (IAF).’ While pointing out that India manufactures fighter jets, tanks, submarines, medicines, vaccines, electronic gadgets, mobile phones and cars which are popular in many countries, the Prime Minister said that India would now become a huge manufacturer of transport aircraft.
Emphasizing the increased demand for passenger and cargo aircraft, the Prime Minister said India would need more than 2,000 aircraft over the next 15 years. ”Today is a crucial step in that direction.”
Speaking at the event, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said: “This is a historic moment not just for the Tata Group but for the country as it embraces the vision of the Honorable Prime Minister to truly be “Atmanirbhar”.
Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said: “Our teams are committed to supporting the modernization of the Indian Air Force with the C295 program, which will also contribute to the development of the private defense manufacturing sector. in the country”.
Congratulating both groups, the Prime Minister said that more than 100 medium, small and micro-enterprises (MSMEs) were associated with the project.
Underlining that India is creating an unprecedented environment for manufacturing in the country, Modi cited the creation of a simplified and globally competitive corporate tax structure, allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI). ) in all sectors, opening up the defense and space sectors to private companies. businesses, reforming 29 central labor laws into four codes, abolishing 33,000 compliances, and creating the Goods and Services Tax that ended a complex web of dozens of taxes.
He recalled a time when the mainstream thinking was to focus on the service sector because manufacturing was seen as out of reach. “Today we are improving both services and manufacturing sectors…India is gearing up to stay ahead of everyone else in manufacturing,” he said. While reiterating investment-friendly policies, the Prime Minister urged India Inc to act aggressively on manufacturing without losing the current opportunity. “India’s growth momentum has held up despite the COVID-19 pandemic, war and supply chain disruptions.”
Modi said more than $3 billion has been invested in the aerospace sector alone. After 2014, investment in this sector grew five times more than was invested between 2000 and 2014. “We aim to scale our defense manufacturing beyond $25 billion by 2025. Our exports of defense will also exceed $5 billion,” he added.
“Today our policies are stable, predictable and futuristic,” he said. “A new saga of economic reforms is being written in India and the manufacturing sector is reaping the greatest benefits, except for the states.”
The Prime Minister lamented the previous government’s “band-aid approach” where the manufacturing sector was barely functional thanks to subsidies.
Under the C295 project, a consortium of two Tata Group companies – Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Tata Consultancy Services, led by TASL – will assemble 40 Airbus transport aircraft with manufacturing technology provided by Airbus Defense and Space. This is the first time that a private company has been entrusted with the manufacture of a complete military aircraft.
The project will also involve Airbus supplying the first 16 ready-to-use transport aircraft to Seville, Spain. The aircraft can be used for military and civilian purposes.
The first 16 “airworthy” aircraft should be received by the IAF between September 2023 and August 2025. The first C-295s assembled at Vadodra should be delivered from September 2026.
