The administration has made it clear that exploring the possibility of domestic assembly of civilian passenger aircraft is a top policy goal. Airbus has inked a deal with the Tata Group to produce the H125 helicopter from its civilian range in the nation, bringing this goal closer by the day. The two firms had already settled on the C-295 military transport plane as their joint project. This means that they will buy some planes in flyaway condition and have them constructed in Vadodara.
Thus, India will join France, Germany, the United States of America, Canada, and China as the sixth country where Airbus will run its last assembly lines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasted that India will soon be producing large passenger airplanes with the words "Made in India" on them at the foundation ceremony of the Tata Airbus C-295 factory in Vadodara in late October 2022.
Following the historic fleet purchase ambitions of Indigo and Air India, the major carriers of the Tata Group, the policy intent in this area has gained speed.
In this regard, Jyotiraditya Scindia, India's minister of civil aviation, met with Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Global, to discuss ways to strengthen India's standing in the aviation industry. India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, the minister said, and the country is fully committed to its flagship initiative, Make in India.
India sees itself as a possible world center for aircraft production, thanks to its emphasis on self-sufficiency and indigenous manufacturing. This goal is in line with the discussion with Airbus' CEO, as working together on civilian helicopters and C-295 transport planes will establish a manufacturing environment that might lead to India becoming the last assembly site for civilian jets. Estimates put India's fleet needs at 2,000 within the next 15 years, so maybe this is a concept whose moment has arrived.
We should all be pleased by the increased policy ambition, but it will take more effort and careful planning for the process to pay off. By pointing to the critical mass of their investments in engineering, supply chain, and maintenance in the country, Airbus and Boeing have so far resisted the policy pushes for civil final assembly lines.
To take advantage of the e-commerce growth, Boeing spends $1 billion on goods and services from the country and announces a facility in Hyderabad to transform its 737 passenger planes into freighters. What is the demand that Airbus and Boeing are considering for final assembly?
That is the main question. If a final assembly line can justify producing 5 to 10 aircraft per month and meeting the annual need of 120, then the enormous orders for expanding the domestic fleet suggest that the time is appropriate.
Their establishment in India necessitates a more deliberate strategic approach. Using the C-295 and H125 helicopter transactions as examples, domestic airlines could reorganize their fleet orders in the past to make sure that a specific percentage is manufactured here. Not a deal if that happens.
Making a civilian passenger airplane from scratch using components sourced from India's dynamic ecosystem is another viable alternative. However, this will necessitate a significant investment of time and resources, maybe exceeding ten years, similar to the Chinese single-aisle C 919 that will incur enormous costs during its debut at the international airshow in Singapore next month.
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