Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday received a boost to his ‘Make in India’ initiative when aircraft manufacturer Airbus disclosed plans to raise its Indian outsourcing to $2 billion from $400 million and its keenness to manufacture in India. On day two of his France visit, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the World War I memorial in the northern city of lille to pay homage to 10,000 Indian soldiers who died fighting Germany alongside France in the war between 1914 and 1918.
laying a wreath at the martyrs’ memorial, the Prime Minister spent about 50 minutes there as several Indians gathered raised Vande Matram slogans. Accompanied by French Foreign Minister laurent Fabius, Modi arrived here in Air India One and went straight to the facility of Airbus, one of the two major global manufacturers of aircraft.
Expressing support to Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, Airbus said it was ready to manufacture in India, as the Modi visited the assembly line of the world’s largest commercial aircraft, the giant A380, four of which serve the Indian market currently.
Emphasising that each of its A320 family of aircraft has a “Make in India” tag today, Airbus Industries told Modi, at its huge campus here, that it will step up its sourcing volume from the country to $2 billion.
One of the billboards, in fact, that greeted Modi and his delegation proclaimed that the total procurement of Airbus from India stood at $400 million till last year, covering a host of areas and would now be enhanced to $2 billion by 2020.
Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders, who received the Indian leader, said: “We are honoured to host PM Modi in Toulouse and convey to him our desire to forge a stronger industrial bond with India. India already takes a centre-stage role in our international activities and we want to even increase its contribution to our products. We support Modi’s ‘Make in India’ call and are ready to manufacture in India, for India and the world.”
Modi, who took the tour of the facility where planes are manufactured, was given a briefing by officials on the functioning of the aircraft. “Amazing visit to Airbus facility. They are very enthusiastic about the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” the PM eventually tweeted.
MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted, “500 per cent increase in 5 years. @Airbus to PM @narendramodi : Indian outsourcing to increase from $400 million to $2 billion.” A visibly pleased Modi was informed that the Airbus procurement from India was set to grow further as it planned additional manufacturing and engineering work packages with local firms and accelerate their integration into the group’s global supply chain. Such partnership, the group said will extend to a host of areas such as engineering, pilot training, customer services and maintenance, repair and overhaul capability, or MRO, with Indian partners.
The occasion also saw the Airbus top brass give its assessment on the need for aircraft by Indian carriers. The country, it said, will require as many as 1,291 planes over the next 20 years, 913 in single-isle configuration, 322 twin-isled and 56 large ones.
In India, Airbus Group already operates two engineering centres, one focused on civil aviation and the other one on Defence, besides, a research and technology centre which together employ over 400 highly qualified people.
The group’s senior representative conveyed their decision to expand these centres so that they can take on comprehensive design responsibilities for future Airbus group programmes. “Much larger markets are waiting to be tapped, the potential for A380 to help Indian carriers win greater multinational market share with a flagship aircraft is enormous,” Airbus said.
The group is willing to set up final assembly lines and establish supply chains and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in India, a Press release said. These would be in full compliance with the procurement policies specified by the Indian Ministry of Defence and local FDI guidelines.
The group claims to be a significant part of the fleets of all major Indian carriers with a market share of well over 70 per cent. The group said it counts as partners several Indian firms, notably the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics, Mahindra Group, the Tatas, Wipro, larsen and Toubro, and Infosys Technologies.
In fact, Airbus Defence and Space has submitted a joint proposal with Tata to produce the modern C-295 aircraft in India as a replacement for the ageing Avro aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The division also plans to develop and manufacture electronic sensors with a partner in India and has advanced discussions to support Hindustan Aeronautics’ combat aircraft programme.
Airbus Helicopters is in discussions with Indian companies to finalise teaming arrangements of various helicopter programmes, including naval utility helicopters, reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters as well as naval multi-role helicopters. Space is another area in which the group has active collaborations in India, the group said, as Modi was ready to leave for the campus of French space agency CNES -- but not before a dozen-odd staff of Indian origin wanted photos with Modi, who obliged.