The fastest growing aviation sector in the world is in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on October 30th, 2022, while laying the foundation for the country’s first private aircraft manufacturing facility in Gujarat’s Vadodara. “In terms of air traffic, we are on track to be among the top three in the world very soon,” he said in his speech. The aerospace and defence sectors will be two important pillars in making India self-sufficient, PM Modi said, adding, “We have a goal of exceeding $25 billion in defence manufacturing by 2025.” Furthermore, our defence exports would exceed $5 billion.”
Despite the challenges posed by the Ukraine war and the coronavirus pandemic, which ravaged the world for two years, PM Modi stressed that the manufacturing sector’s growth momentum remains.
On the Tata-Airbus project in Gujarat’s Vadodara, which is being billed as a critical milestone in the government’s push for self-sufficiency, the prime minister added, “This is the first time that such a large investment has been made in the defence aerospace industry.” This manufacturing facility in Vadodara would not only benefit the Air Force but would also contribute to the development of an ecosystem for aircraft manufacturing.” The project’s total cost is estimated to be around ₹22,000 crore.
Airbus is one of the world’s largest commercial aircraft manufacturers, and India previously agreed to purchase 56 C-295 planes to replace the Air Force fleet. While 16 of these planes would be delivered from Europe, 40 would be built at the Gujarat facility, which would also create thousands of jobs.
