PM lays foundation stone for C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara

Addressing the gathering, the prime minister said, “Today we have taken a big step in the direction of making India the manufacturing hub of the world. India is making fighter jets, tanks, submarines, medicines, vaccines, electronic gadgets, mobile phones and cars that are popular in many countries.”

India, he said, is moving forward with the mantra of ‘Make in India, Make for the Globe’ and now India is becoming a huge manufacturer of transport aircraft in the world, adding that India will soon be manufacturing big passenger aircraft that will proudly bear the words ‘Made in India’. 

He said the facility for which the foundation stone was laid today, has the power to transform the country’s defence and transport sector, adding that it is for the first time that such a big investment is taking place in the Indian defence sector. Transport aircraft manufactured here will not only give strength to the armed forces but it will help in developing a new ecosystem of aircraft manufacturing. “Vadodara, which is famous as a cultural and education centre, will develop a new identity as an aviation sector hub”, he said. 

The prime minister noted that more than 100 MEMEs are also associated with the project. He said that the promise of ‘Make in India, Make for the Globe’ will gain new push from this land as the project will be able to take orders for export to other countries in the future.

Commenting on the fast growing aviation sector of India, the prime minister said India is about to be among top three countries in the world with regard to air traffic. UDAN scheme is helping in turning many commuters into air travelers, he said. Highlighting the increased demand for passenger and cargo aircraft, the prime minister stated that India will need more than 2,000 aircraft in the next 15 years. The prime minister pointed out that the new facility is a crucial step in this direction and India has already begun preparations for the same. 

Modi also highlighted that India is presenting an opportunity for the world that is beset by the Corona pandemic and war and the resultant disruptions in the supply chain. He pointed out that the growth momentum of India has been constant even among such tough circumstances. He explained that operating conditions are constantly improving and India is focusing on cost competitiveness as well as quality. 

“India is presenting the opportunity of low cost manufacturing and high output”, the prime minister remarked, adding that India has a huge talent pool of skilled manpower. 

With the reforms undertaken by the government in the last 8 years, the prime minister said that India is creating an unprecedented environment for manufacturing in the country. The prime minister gave examples of creating a simplified corporate tax structure while making it globally competitive, opening up the 100 per cent FDI route, opening up defence and space sectors for private participation, reframing 29 central labour laws into 4 codes, abolishing 33,000 compliances, and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax that put an end to a complex web of dozens of taxes. “A new saga of economic reforms is being written in India today and the manufacturing sector is reaping the most benefits from this apart from the states,” he said.

The prime minister attributed the success to a change in mindset. “Today, India is working with a new mindset, a new work-culture”. 

Highlighting the investment friendly policies of the government, the prime minister remarked that its benefits are clearly visible in FDI. “In the last eight years” he said, “companies from more than 160 countries have invested in India.” He further elaborated that such foreign investments are not limited to certain industries but spread across 61 sectors of the economy and covers 31 states of India. The prime minister informed that more than $3 billion has been invested in the aerospace sector alone. He noted that post 2014, investment in this sector grew 5 times of what was invested during the year 2000 to 2014. Modi highlighted that in the coming years, the defence and aerospace sectors are going to be the crucial pillars of the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign. “We aim to scale our defence manufacturing beyond $25 billion by 2025. Our defence exports will also exceed $5 billion” he added. 

The prime ninister pointed out that the defence corridors being developed in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will immensely help in scaling-up this sector. Modi also praised the defence ministry and the government of Gujarat for organising the biggest ever Def-expo in Gandhinagar. He underlined that all the equipment and technologies displayed in the Def-expo were made in India. “The reflection of Project C-295 will also be visible to us in the Def-expo of the coming years”, the prime minister added.