Vadodara aircraft making facility a big step to 'Atmanirbhar': Modi
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New Delhi: Laying the foundation stone for an aircraft-making plant in Vadodara, Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it was a giant leap for India towards becoming 'Atmanirbhar', NDTV reported.
He said that Defence and Aerospace would become the two major pillars for making India Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) in the coming years. India's defence manufacture will cross $25 billion by 2025, and the defence corridors built in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu would enhance the said scale, the PM said.
He claimed that India gas is the world's fastest-growing aviation sector today, and it is about to reach among the top three countries in terms of air traffic. Though there are disruptions in the supply chain, Covid-19 issues and war, India's growth momentum in the manufacturing sector stays relentless, the PM claimed.
The PM further said that the transport aircraft to be built in Vadodara would aid the army and develop an ecosystem for aircraft manufacturing. "India, following the mantra of 'Make in India, Make for the Globe', is today increasing its potential," NDTV quoted the PM.
In Vadodara, Tata-Airbus will build C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force. It will build 40 aircraft and additional aircraft for Air Force requirements and exports, according to the defence ministry.
Tata-Airbus said that C-295 manufacturing would be the first 'Make in India' aerospace programme in the private sector. It will have a complete industrial ecosystem, having manufacture, assembly, testing, qualification, delivery and maintenance, which is the complete lifecycle of an aircraft.
The C295 planes are able to carry 71 troops or 50 paratroopers and could operate from short or unprepared airstrips. It could be deployed into areas where current heavy crafts could not enter. It could airdrop, man and loads, perform casualty or medical evacuations, disaster response and perform maritime patrol duties.
The project will generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, more than 3,000 jobs indirectly and 3,000 more medium-skilled jobs, providing 42.5 lakh work hours. For the project, 240 engineers are to be trained in Spain.