Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the mega-orders for more than 900 passenger jets placed by IndiGo and Air India were a testament to India's unprecedented growth potential.
The civil aviation sector in India has once again seen a new inflection point, said Scindia, who spoke during a briefing on the record order for the Airbus 320 neo family aircraft. This latest order by one of our foremost carrier for 500 aircraft with Airbus discussions of the potential of civil aviation in the country. The minister again attested to the unprecedented growth of the industry since 2014 and the aspirations of 1.4 billion people who were desirous of travelling by air.
The world's biggest recorded order from a carrier IndiGo with a global aircraft manufacturer is another landmark, coming very close on the heels of the Air India order. What's also important to understand are its direct and indirect economic multiplier effects, he said.
As a result, every $1 invested in the civil aircraft sector resulted in $1.3 in terms of new growth, and each direct job created resulted in another 6.1 indirect jobs being created.
It is time for civil aviation to have a very firm foothold in India. Market size and scale are a key factor in the industry, which deals with economies of scale and market size. But Scindia said those arguments for scale and market size have now presented themselves.
Scindia said French aerospace giant Safran's commitment to invest $150 million to set up an engine maintenance, repair and overhaul MRO facility would help strengthen the sector.
In addition to that, we now have aircraft manufacturing taking firm roots. You are aware that Boeing and Airbus are among the companies that export close to $1.6 billion worth of domestically-manufactured products. That is growing tremendously, he said.
Scindia also referred to the Tata-Airbus deal to create C - 295 aircraft in the country, saying such developments would eventually result in more investments and technology transfer.
In terms of innovation, aerospace and space are the pioneers in the field of new technologies. We will see the ripple effects of such technology transfer coming into many other industries, he said, with continued investments coming into India.
On Monday, IndiGo, the country's biggest carrier, announced a mammoth deal for 500 aircraft of the Airbus 320 neo family on the first day of the Paris air show. This deal came within five months of national flag carrier Air India's mega order for 470 aircraft. In addition, IndiGo's order will not only eclipse that deal but also complements it as two of India's leading carriers look to make a mark globally.