India is laying the groundwork to build its own commercial aircraft, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told NDTV at Davos, confirming partnerships with Russia and also hinting at new flight routes and helicopter expansions to follow.
"Yes," Naidu said when asked whether India is building a plane with the Russians and the Sukhoi Superjet. "I'm saying 1,700 planes, all these planes are coming from outside. We have to either buy from Airbus, or buy from Boeing. Why can't we build our own plane?".
He confirmed efforts are underway, with Russian technology being transferred through a partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and Adani tying up with Brazil's Embraer. "It is going to work out".
"Very soon we are going to announce the assembly line of them in India also," Naidu said. "It's going to be a great addition."
He called on Indian companies to deepen investment in manufacturing. "The ultimate objective is to, from scratch, make our own plane," he said, adding it would support regional connectivity. "First it starts with the confidence, can we do it or not? Yes."
On civil helicopters, Naidu revealed that for the first time, an engine made by HAL has been certified for civil operations. "I think within two more months we will have the first helicopter which has been manufactured in India, certified for civil operations."
Helicopter operations, including those under the UDAN regional scheme, are being expanded. "We separated it. We said helicopters need to have their own directorate," he said. The government's digital platform, HeliSeva, has streamlined clearances. "Char Dham is like a shuttle service, day in and day out. This is a model that can be scaled."
Naidu also revealed plans to route flights through new hubs in Gujarat, bypassing closed Pakistani airspace. "Can we have another station, another hub in Gujarat via Dholera, Rajkot and reroute the planes via that station?" he said. "We are exploring options, higher up into the Himalayas, across China."
India's aviation push, he said, isn't just about flights. "See, main focus becomes upon the travel. But civil aviation contains many more modules. One important thing that I want to concentrate upon is the manufacturing sector."
