Saraf to Drive Airbus Group's 'Make in India' Initiatives

Airbus Group has taken yet another step towards realising its ‘Make in India’ plans, appointing Ashish Saraf as Vice-President.

BENGALUEU:  Airbus Group has taken yet another step towards realising its ‘Make in India’ plans, appointing Ashish Saraf as Vice-President - Industry Development, Strategic Partnerships and Offsets. Saraf will drive the Group’s existing ‘Make in India’ initiatives and conceive new ones for all the businesses of Airbus Group India with the aim to increase their industrial footprint here. The move comes close on the heels of Airbus Group uniting its divisions in India under a single company.

“Having Ashish as part of our India management team with the mandate to expand our local industrial partnerships is a shot in the arm for our ‘Make in India’ plans,” said Pierre de Bausset, President, Airbus Group India.

“Airbus Group’s ambition is to be a benchmark setting company when it comes to realising the ‘Make in India’ vision of the Indian government,” Saraf said in a statement.

Prior to joining Airbus Group, Saraf was the India head of the Tata Sikorsky joint venture from 2010 and led Sikorsky’s industrialisation and strategic partnerships in India.

Airbus Group has been collaborating with India, including embedding local players in its global value chain and tying up with Indian partners to target several ongoing defence acquisition programmes.

The group has submitted a bid with Tata to jointly manufacture the C295 aircraft in India as a replacement for the Indian Air Force’s ageing Avro aircraft and has tied-up with Mahindra Defence to jointly produce helicopters in India.