NEW DELHI: Aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu is hopeful of domestic players making aircraft and exporting them to the global market. The minister believes that with the right kind of policy push and support, domestic players can excel in manufacturing civil aircraft.
“The process of building aircraft in India is a work in progress. The major challenge is how to connect it to the industry and make it viable in the long run. Our HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) and NAL (National Aerospace Laboratories) are the most important players today, and they have been doing it for the defence sector for a long time. What we are trying to see from the civil aviation side is how we can convert something manufactured for defence and make in civil aviation capable,” said Naidu while interacting with TNIE during Delhi Dialogue.
Without giving a dateline as to when India would start making planes, the minister stated that his ministry would do the right policy-making, address the small gaps and give the players positive signs that they are looking towards making this happen.
For Naidu, domestic players are his first preference to achieve this highly ambitious task. He, however, is open to forming partnerships with global players for the exchange of ideas and technical knowledge as according to him manufacturing airplanes is a very precise engineering task.
“We have already encouraged Boeing and Airbus to set up their factories here for spare parts and components. We are encouraging them to do more in the country as it will bring know-how. When a company is trying to make products here, there is a lot of spillover that happens. Some other industries follow on, leading to the formation of a cluster. It is a win-win situation for everyone” said Naidu.
For decades, two major firms – Boeing and Airbus -- have dominated the airplanes manufacturing industry. Boeing currently maintains over 40% market share, while Airbus dominates with over 60% share of the industry. Indian players such as Air India, IndiGo and Akasa have pending orders for more than 1,100 aircraft from these two players.
‘Open to forming partnerships with global players’
Without giving a dateline as to when India would start making planes, the minister stated that his ministry would do the right policy-making, address the small gaps and give the players positive signs that they are looking towards making this happen. For Naidu, domestic players are his first preference to achieve this highly ambitious task. He, however, is open to forming partnerships with global players