Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, yesterday inaugurated India’s first private military aircraft plant, boosting New Delhi’s ambitions of growing local manufacturing in its defense and aerospace industries.
Sanchez was welcomed to the country with a roadshow in Gujarat state’s Vadodara city where hundreds of people cheered and waved banners.
The two leaders then launched the Tata Aircraft Complex, the manufacturing hub that will produce the Airbus C-295 transport military aircraft in collaboration with Airbus Spain and to be deployed by the Indian air force.
Photo: AP
Sanchez said the project was a triumph of Modi’s vision “to turn India into an industrial powerhouse and a magnet for investment and business-to-business collaboration.”
“This partnership between Airbus and Tata will contribute to the progress of the Indian aerospace industry and will open new doors for the arrival of other European companies,” he added.
“This new aircraft factory will boost new skills and new industries in India,” Modi said, adding that the country was now supplying parts to the world’s leading aircraft companies.
Photo: AP
Tata conglomerate chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran hailed it as a historic day for the country’s defense sector and credited the late Ratan Tata, the industrialist and former chairman who died earlier this month, for conceiving the idea more than a decade ago.
Under a US$2.5 billion deal signed in 2021, Airbus is to deliver the first 16 of the aircraft from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain — six of them have been delivered to the Indian air force so far. Tata Advanced Systems Ltd is to produce 40 of the aircraft in the Vadodara plant, which is expected to roll out the first C-295 aircraft made in India in 2026. The aircraft can transport up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers and will be able to access remote locations. It can also be used for medical evacuations and aid in disaster response and maritime patrol duties.
Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has vowed to turn India into a global manufacturing hub, including in infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and defense. As part of an effort to modernize and reform military equipment, the government has sought to grow the private defense manufacturing sector, a space previously occupied solely by the government-run organizations, and has eased foreign direct investment regulations to try and encourage companies to establish themselves in India.
The visit marks the first by a Spanish leader to India in 18 years. During the two-day visit, Sanchez is to hold talks with Modi to review ties between the countries and also speak with Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Sanchez is to travel today to Mumbai, India’s financial capital and home to Bollywood, where he is expected to interact with trade and industry leaders, as well as visit film studios in an effort to grow collaboration between the Indian and Spanish entertainment industry.
Their bilateral trade stood at nearly US$10 billion last year.
According to the Indian foreign ministry, more than 200 Spanish companies actively operate in India and about 80 Indian companies in Spain.
The two leaders are expected to sign agreements that will further boost ties and cooperation in areas such as trade, information technology, renewable energy and defense, an Indian government statement said.
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