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Context
Can India make commercial planes? In a decade or two, it could, with serious funding, govt. incentives
What has happened?
India is poised to become the world’s third-biggest aviation market in seven years with more than 20% growth, after China and the U.S.
Rising demand
- To meet demand, Indian carriers have placed orders for 1,000 aircraft worth more than Rs. 10 lakh crore; and, more than 6,000 planes would be needed by 2050
- In 2017, Indian carriers flew 117.18 million domestic passengers marking an 18% growth over 2016
High growth
- This market is to grow to 250 million by FY23, according to CAPA, an aviation advisory firm
- Boeing has forecast that the Indian market would need 2,100 new planes valued at $290 billion by 2036
- Airbus has said the Indian civil aviation market will grow by 8.1% for next 20 years which is above the world average of 4.4%.
Can India manufacture commercial civil airplanes domestically?
Possible but very challenging
- Need large funding in R&D, global partners and the highest commitment by the government
- Chinese and Russian civil aircraft programmes are yet to take off except in their home countries
- HAL has failed in delivering commercial aircraft, except for the manufacture of the 19-seater Dornier 228 which can be deployed in regional sectors
- Need a serious and time-bound approach to encourage and develop a viable and futuristic aircraft manufacturing programme to at least reach the level achieved by Brazil which has developed and sustained the Embraer programme
India’s challenges
- No MROs (Maintenance, repair, and overhaul): We don’t have the aerospace grade of suppliers in India. Iran has far better local supplier base. Brazil developed its aerospace programme in the ’80s. In fifty years, our expertise is nearly zero. We need to be aerospace grade ready
- Robust government-private collaboration: The government needs to enforce a robust government-private collaboration to take Indian aerospace manufacturing to the next level
- Huge Entry barrier: So far, the world has had only two major manufacturers of commercial planes and less than a handful making small aircraft. Even the biggest aerospace powers do not have any aircraft that is 100% built in their country. The level of sophistication and specialisation that exists in aerospace requires sourcing of components and subsystems from all across the world.
Way forward
- Expansion of airport infrastructure
- The Make in India incentive for manufacturing in India; and
- To revitalise the MRO industry in India through fiscal incentives
