Govt to set up SPV for manufacturing aircraft in India: Union Minister Naidu

The government is in the process of setting a special purpose vehicle for making regional transport aircraft, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Monday as he asserted that necessary policies are in place for India to manufacture planes and its components..

Replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha, the minister highlighted the steps taken by the government to promote aircraft component manufacturing and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) activities, including having a uniform IGST rate.

India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets and domestic carriers have placed orders for more than 1,500 planes as they expand their fleets to meet rising air traffic demand.

"We have changed the thought process that we have when it comes to manufacturing of aircraft. We are saying that India is at the stage right now where we can manufacture, we can design and we can maintain an aircraft," Naidu said.

Elaborating about the way forward, the minister said the government has adopted a holistic approach and is in the process of setting a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for manufacturing regional transport aircraft.

"We have a plan to create an SPV for five years, which is going to bring in all the necessary stakeholders... study the existing picture in the country and create a road map...," he said and added that the idea is to make the aircraft in five years.

As the government pushes ahead with the Make In India initiatives, the TDP leader also emphasised that states are the key players.

While stressing that skilling is also important, Naidu mentioned that there are 58 working FTOs (Flying Training Organisations) and the focus is to create an ecosystem for manufacturing aircraft components.

In a written reply, Naidu said the development of the indigenous 19-seater Light Transport Aircraft Saras Mk2 is under progress at CSIR-NAL.

"The Saras Mk2 initiative has a collaboration and partnership with HAL. The aircraft has significant indigenous components and technologies like advanced composite wing, composite and light weight material airframe, avionics, display and communication system," he added.

Further, the minister said the production and manufacturing activities of aircraft with its indigenous content are envisaged to promote indigenous civil aircraft component manufacturing in the country.