In a significant push for India’s indigenous defence manufacturing industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Tata Airbus facility to manufacture C295 military transport planes in Gujarat on Sunday, ushering India to enter the exclusive group of few countries with the capacity to manufacture such aircraft.
The defence industry has seen substantial growth due to the government’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or self-reliance as the Indian Armed Forces look to achieve national security and strategic autonomy through a modern military amid the constantly-evolving global security scenario. The Modi government aims to build a vibrant local defence industry ecosystem that can boost domestic and export demand.
With the facility set up in Vadodara, it will be the first time the Airbus C295 transport aircraft will be manufactured outside of Europe. In a major push for the government’s ‘Make In India’ aim, it will also be the first time manufacturing of military aircraft in India will take place involving a private company.
The laying of the foundation stone of the defence industrial complex comes a year after India sealed a nearly Rs 21,000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C-295 transport aircraft to replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the Indian Air Force.
