What Rajnath Singh Said On Tata-Airbus Helicopter Facility| Indian news

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He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the final assembly line of H-125 helicopters here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron virtually inaugurated the Airbus H125 light utility helicopter Final Assembly Line at Tata-Airbus’ facility at Vemagal Industrial Area in this district from Mumbai.

Singh, accompanied by his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin, congratulated Tata Advanced System and Airbus Helicopters for inaugurating the project and also recalled their earlier association.

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“This project is a shining example of mutually beneficial partnership with friendly countries in the high-end manufacturing sector,” Singh said.

“The investment in the H-125 program is expected to exceed ₹1000 crore and is likely to create direct and indirect employment opportunities for our skilled and hardworking younger generation,” he said.

Known for its exceptional reliability, versatility and excellent performance under diverse operating conditions, the H-125 has proven to be one of the most efficient and reliable single-engine helicopters worldwide, he said.

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I recalled that Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus had earlier joined hands for a project in Gujarat’s Vadodara for the C-295 aircraft, which I described as a symbol of how Tata in particular and India in general could collaborate with international OEMs to contribute to the vision of a stronger India.

The defense minister said “Make in India” and self-reliance have been the cornerstone of India’s economic policy since 2014.

Singh recalls that this policy initiative was launched by Prime Minister Modi, under which India is committed to achieving self-reliance in critical technology and manufacturing of high-end products and equipment through mutually beneficial partnerships.

“For more than a decade, India has charted industrial development through large-scale infrastructure construction, capital infusion in key sectors through a number of incentive schemes on the one hand, and providing a level playing field for facilitating investment on the other,” he said.

He added that it was also the government’s focus to support small and medium industries and especially to strengthen the start-up ecosystem. In general, the focus has been on holistic industrial development, which not only meets domestic demand, but also addresses the needs of other countries.

Highlighting reforms in the defense sector, Singh said that these measures have increased the contribution of the private sector in the defense industrial ecosystem.

According to him, Indian defense production has historically been largely public sector-oriented due to high capital investment requirements and long gestation periods, resulting in the private sector’s contribution being far less than desired.

However, with reforms such as the corporatization of ordnance factories, establishment of defense industrial corridors and other initiatives to increase the private sector’s share in total defense production, it now stands at nearly a quarter of the country’s total defense production.

Defense exports have also increased manifold, placing India among the top exporters in the world, he said.

Singh said the growth trajectory has given a massive boost to MSMEs and ancillary sectors, which have grown to over 16,000 in number, with many foreign companies sourcing components from Indian MSMEs.

He invited companies to deepen the partnership by offering meaningful technology transfer and platforms to meet the security needs of other countries as well.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, who also attended the event, said the H125 final assembly line set up by Tata and Airbus was a defining moment for India’s aviation sector, calling it “a proud symbol of growing confidence in India’s high-precision aviation capabilities.”

He described defense and civil aviation as “two strategic pillars of the Indo-French partnership” and said the new facility would strengthen “a single integrated aerospace ecosystem” by bringing together both civil and defense variants.

Noting that India has risen from the 10th to the third largest civil aviation market in just 11 years, Naidu asserted that the country now has “the market, the export potential, the policy ecosystem, the skilled workforce and the strategic global partnerships to emerge as a rotary-wing manufacturing hub.”

“The future of rotary aviation in South Asia will be designed, manufactured, certified, maintained and exported from India,” he said, adding that the country is “not only flying high but flying beyond all horizons” under the Make in India and Viksit Bharat 2047 visions.

Tata Advanced Systems CEO and MD Sukaran Singh said in this facility here “we will start building helicopters without any government or defense orders.”

“However, we will be ready to supply the armed forces as and when they want. The first helicopter will fly out of this facility by mid-2027.”