NEW DELHI: American firms are evincing interest in India’s aviation sector, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said after meeting top industry players in the US.‘‘I had a detailed discussion with Hamid Salim, VP Sikorsky on deepening Lockheed Martin’s engagement with India, including developments in the helicopter sector and setting up offset and MRO facilities in India (sic),” the minister tweeted.
In New York, Scindia has already met global majors including like Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin, and Blade Air Mobility.The minister expressed hope that the talks would translate into investments across a range of segments from manufacturing aircraft and their components to airport infrastructure. “Discussed potential collaboration for enhancing the civil aviation infrastructure ecosystem in India, including setting up MROs and furthering GAGAN project,’’ Scindia said.
The GAGAN project is a collaboration of the ISRO and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to implement a GPS aided geo augmented navigation for the Indian airspace.The minister also met with members of the US India Business Council with whom he discussed about growing focus and opportunities in regional connectivity and urban air mobility in India.Scindia will also visit the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) headquarters in Canada’s Montreal and discuss opportunities for the two countries in the aviation sector.