India's ambitions to become a global hub for aircraft manufacturing received fresh momentum this week with the announcement of a collaboration between the Adani Group and Brazil's Embraer, even as Boeing signalled that its own approach to the Indian market will focus on long-term industrial growth.
Speaking to NDTV in an interview conducted alongside developments around the Adani-Embraer partnership, Boeing India President Salil Gupte outlined the company's expectations.
"What I want from the Indian market this year is lots of successful growth from our customers. Of course, we are delivering more simulators for training here. We are, of course, continuing to build out our spare parts capability in the first-ever original equipment manufacturer (OEM) warehouse (Khurja, Uttar Pradesh) that we opened in India a couple of years ago. We are going to continue to look to have more parts in there and expand those services to our customers. We are going to look to expand our power-by-the-hour and exchange programme services to our customers here in India," Gupte said.
The comments come at a time when India is widely regarded as one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets, with airlines placing large aircraft orders and regional connectivity expanding rapidly under government-backed schemes.
On sourcing, Gupte said Boeing's procurement from India would rise as global production rates increase, particularly following approval by the US Federal Aviation Administration for higher output on aircraft such as the 737.
"As our production rates go up, our sourcing numbers go up.
Averag of two aircraft a month," he added.
While rivals have announced high-profile partnerships in recent months -- Tata with Airbus and Adani with Embraer -- Boeing, Gupte said, does not view the Indian market through the lens of exclusive alliances.
"The joint goal of the United States and India on aerospace has been the broad industrialisation of Indian aerospace. We don't necessarily pick one partner. We are proud to have a joint venture with Tata, which we've had for many years, where we do the Apache fuselage and the 737 vertical fin. That's bringing next-generation manufacturing technologies to India and developing them further, some of which don't exist anywhere else in the world," Gupte said.
Boeing has previously announced potential defence-side final assembly lines in India, most notably an offer to set up a line for the Super Hornet fighter jet with Mahindra and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. That proposal did not proceed after the Indian Air Force, Navy and Ministry of Defence opted for the French-made Rafale instead.
"It certainly could have when it was offered," Gupte said, adding that Boeing "stands ready to make such offers as required again".
Gupte said a final assembly line would require a clear and sustained requirement from the market. For now, the company's focus remains on building up primary and secondary structures within the supply chain.
"The focus has to be Make in India for the globe and not just Make in India for India," he said.
These remarks stand in contrast to developments announced on Tuesday in New Delhi, where Adani Defence & Aerospace and Embraer signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a regional aircraft manufacturing facility in India. The collaboration, unveiled at a function hosted by the civil aviation ministry, includes plans to set up a final assembly line for Embraer's regional aircraft in the country.
Embraer manufactures commercial jets with up to 150 seats, a segment seen as critical for improving connectivity to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)
