PM Modi launches Safran aircraft engine facility in Hyderabad

Highlighting India’s investment potential, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the country is a trusted partner and investors are co-creators.

After virtually inaugurating French major Safran’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility for LEAP engines used in commercial aircraft, in the city, Modi said the facility will also help provide job opportunities for the youngsters.

Asserting that India has decriminalised hundreds of business-related provisions, he underlined that the National Single Window System has brought numerous approvals onto a single platform.

He noted that GST reforms, faceless tax assessment, new labour codes, and the insolvency and bankruptcy code have all made governance simpler and more transparent than ever before.

“Because of these efforts, India is now seen as a trusted partner, a major market, and a rising manufacturing hub. India today has rapid growth, a stable government, a reform-oriented mindset, a vast young talent pool, and a large domestic market. And most importantly, for those investing in India, the country considers them not merely as investors but as co-creators, stakeholders in the journey of Viksit Bharat,”  he said.

In the last few years, India’s aviation sector has taken a huge leap and today the country is one of the fastest growing domestic aviation markets in the world, Modi said adding that India’s domestic market is the third largest in the world.

As the aspirations of the people of India are on a new level, the demand for air travel in India is continuously increasing prompting Indian carriers to continuously increase their active fleet. India’s airline companies have ordered more than 1,500 new aircraft, he said.

With the rapid expansion of India’s aviation sector, the need for MRO facilities has also increased, he further said adding that nearly 85 percent of India’s MRO work has been taking place outside the country, which led to higher costs, longer turnaround times, and aircraft remaining grounded for extended periods.

He said that such a situation was not suitable for a vast aviation market like India. Therefore, the Government of India is developing the nation as one of the world’s major MRO hubs, he said.  Referring to the Safran’s facility, Modi said now, for the first time, a global OEM is establishing Deep Level Servicing facility in the country.

In addition, the partnership of Team Safran’s global training, knowledge transfer and India’s institutions will create a workforce that will give a new direction to the entire MRO ecosystem in the coming years, Modi said adding with the facility, there will be many opportunities for the youth of South India to get employment.

“And we do not just want to be limited to aviation MRO. We are also working on a very large scale on the MRO ecosystem related to shipping. In addition, we are also promoting design in India on a large scale,” the PM said.

Modi said he would like Safran to use India’s talent and opportunities for propulsion design and manufacturing, as the country is not just dreaming big, but taking big decisions and achieving even bigger achievements. According to him, the country opened the doors of the economy, secondly strengthened its fundamentals and thirdly made business easier.

“In addition, today 100 per cent FDI is possible in most sectors. In sectors such as defense, where there was no place for the private sector earlier, 74 per cent FDI has been opened automatically. There is also a lot of progress in the space sector,” he explained.

The Safran Aircraft Engine Services India (SAESI) facility in the city will be operational in 2026 and will be a major boost for the country’s indigenous capabilities in the fast-growing aviation sector, a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had said.

The facility, set up with an initial investment of `1,300 crore, is for the LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engines, which power the narrow-body Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

 LEAP engines are manufactured by CFM International, an equal joint venture between Safran Aircraft Engines and GE Aerospace, the release had added.

Designed to service up to 300 LEAP engines annually, SAESI facility will employ over 1,000 highly skilled Indian technicians and engineers upon achieving full operational capacity by 2035, the release issued on Tuesday said. It had also said that developing indigenous capabilities in MRO will reduce foreign exchange outflows, create high-value employment, strengthen supply-chain resilience and position India as a global aviation hub.