INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL PRIVATE SECTOR

intends to bid for a possible contract to manufacture modules of GE F414 engines that will power the next generation of IAF fighter jets.

• Ashok Leyland, Dynamatic Technologies, Honeywell Aerospace India, Mahindra Aerospace and Quest Global are other private companies that are well placed to contribute meaningfully towards the huge ecosystem of aerospace technology in both civilian and military spheres that is now emerging in India.

From Rta To Drones

The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has been tasked with the development of the ambitious Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA), a 90-seat turboprop passenger plane. Besides other public sector partners, NAL is also looking for private sector collaborators, domestic as well as foreign. The RTA’s project definition phase started in April 2022 and will conclude by September 2023. Here too TASL’s experience with the C295 programme could come in handy. And the RTA project could in turn be the launch pad for the development of an indigenous regional jet, a long-cherished dream of the country.

Much smaller in size physically, but of immense potential, is drone manufacturing. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia have stated on various occasions that India aims to become a global drone hub by 2030. In August 2021, a new set of regulations was released as ‘Drone Rules 2021’. These liberalised rules greatly simplified the tedious official procedures for registration and operation of drones. The “DigitalSky platform” hosted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for various activities related to drones now serves as a single-window portal for drone manufacture approvals.

Once again, it is private enterprise all the way. Take ideaForge, the Mumbaibased pioneering drone company. With a wide range of products for both military and civil applications it had a market share of approximately 50 per cent in FY 2022. Pune-based Bharat Forge is the largest repository of metallurgical knowhow, design and engineering expertise and manufacturing prowess in India. Recently the company entered a partnership with General Atomics to manufacture main landing gear components, subassemblies, and major assemblies of drones. This is expected to help the country build a strong manufacturing ecosystem for high-end drones. TASL already has Sky-I and Rakshak VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in its tactical UAV portfolio. Next in line could be MALE (Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance) and HALE (HighAltitude Long-Endurance) UAVs for military customers.

According to an estimate by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, India’s drone sector will achieve a turnover of `12,000-15,000 crore by 2026, up from just `80 crore currently. Much of this spectacular growth will probably come from drone start-ups. For instance, Garuda Aerospace, founded in 2015, already has 750+ clients and over 30 different drones that offer more than 50 services across 84 cities in India. Its main products are Vajra, for the defence sector, and the Garuda Kisan Drone. It is all set to partner with Naini Aerospace Engineering Ltd (NAeL), an HAL subsidiary, and develop advanced precision drones.

The Top Three

Growth Prospects

A Feat Worthy Of Being Replicated

All the signs indicate that India’s aviation sector will be transformed in about a decade from now. Apart from the stunning aircraft orders, demand for air travel has moved beyond just the big cities and spilled over into tier 2 and 3 towns. Some analysts believe that IndiGo and Air India may have gone overboard with their orders in pursuit of the same pool of passengers. However, irrespective of the number of aircraft that actually materialise, all those planes will surely provide direct and indirect economic multiplier effects. And to complete the aviation ecosystem picture, this is the best time to enter the high-revenue aviation MRO and aircraft leasing segments. This requires some encouragement and incentives from the government, underpinned by action in the areas of policy and taxation. According to Deloitte, the Indian repair and overhaul industry is expected to grow to $4 billion by 2031, up from $1.7 billion in 2021.

In a recent interview, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia stated, “India will have a fleet size of 1,200-1,400 planes by 2030, up from the current 700. We will have enough airport capacity. I am looking at the number of airports growing from 148 now to close to 230-240 during this period. I am also looking at passenger traffic growing from the current 14.5 crore (145 million) a year to almost 42 crore (420 million) by 2030, which means a three-fold increase. So yes, there is a long journey yet to be covered.”

Just 20 years ago no one could have predicted that India’s private airlines would achieve near-total domination of the skies so rapidly and that the two state-owned carriers would become history. The airline industry has again proved that whenever private enterprise is unleashed in any sector it takes that sector by storm. Defence and aerospace manufacturing could well replicate this feat within the next 20 years. After all, innovation and quality flow from competitiveness. Now that the stranglehold of the PSUs over aviation manufacturing has been decisively broken, private enterprise will surely deliver far more economically and effectively. SP