"India To Receive 1 Or More Aircraft Per Week Next Decade": GE Aerospace CEO

As aspirational India continues to grow, India will receive one aircraft per week or more in the next decade, said Vikram Rai, GE Aerospace CEO (South Asia), as he highlighted the massive strides in the Indian aviation industry.

With every new aircraft, there comes the responsibility to power it safely, reliably, and sustainably, he said at the NDTV World Summit 2025, sharing his insights into the future of aerospace technology, regional innovations, and strategies that are transforming the aviation and aerospace sectors.

Putting the massive growth into numbers, he said that 39 million Indians travelled abroad last year, while the number of airports in the country has risen from 75 to around 160 in the last decade. India ranks as the 3rd largest civil aerospace market in the world, said the aerospace executive.

"Aspirational India cannot wait," he remarked.

Rai also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship UDAAN scheme that aims to make flights affordable for even a 'hawai chappal'-wearing common citizen.

That day isn't far away. Rai shared an instance where his house help told him that she would take a flight for vacation. "I felt great," he remarked.

He also praised the advancement in indigenous technology. Pointing to Operation Sindoor, he said that recent military combats have proved Indian tech's prowess. GE Aerospace understands that India is not only a purchaser of technology but also a producer of high-tech indigenous technology, stressed Rai.

"We aspire to partner with India towards their vision of Amritkal, a developed India by 2047. We have laid the building blocks of that partnership. GE Aerospace's contribution towards 'Make in India' has been impactful and significant," he said.

GE Aerospace has a technology centre in Bengaluru where over 1,500 engineers are working on next-generation technology. At Pune, it manufactures engine parts and components, which Rai called a true example of 'Make in India'.

"For aspirational India, aerospace is not just about aircraft or engines. It is about the inventions in Bengaluru and the hustle of technicians in Nagpur. It is about that young passenger who looks out of the aeroplane window and says, 'I want to build this aeroplane', and a teenager saying, 'I want to do space travel'," he added.