India-Spain: PM Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez on Monday jointly inaugurated the Tata Aircraft Complex at Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in Vadodara that will manufacture Airbus’ C-295 military aircraft in the country for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The factory, which Modi said is a reflection of “new India’s work culture”, will not only make these aircraft in India but will soon transform into an export hub.
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The final assembly line plant of the C-295 aircraft at Vadodara is the first such manufacturing unit in the country’s aviation sector. It is being set up by Tata Advanced Systems in collaboration with Airbus Spain. The project is worth $2.5 billion and the deal was signed in 2021.
“This is about the right plan and right partnership… I strongly believe that, in the future, the planes that will be manufactured in this plant will be exported to other countries too,” said Modi during the inauguration of the plant.
Modi also said the plant will provide “thousands of jobs”. Not just that, he added that as many as 18,000 parts of the aircraft will be manufactured indigenously. These parts will be made by a plethora of MSMEs.
Only the engine of the aircraft — the C-295 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines — will be imported. Under the C-295 programme, India will procure 56 aircraft, of which 16 are to be delivered directly from Airbus in Spain. The remaining 40 will be manufactured at the Vadodara plant. The planned acquisition of the 56 C-295 transport aircraft is to replace the IAF’s ageing Avro-748 fleet.
‘Will Open New Doors’
Modi was accompanied at the event by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“This partnership between Airbus and Tata will contribute to the progress of the Indian aerospace industry and will open new doors for the arrival of other European companies,” said Sánchez, who is on his maiden visit to India.
A batch of 200 engineers from Tata Group is already in Spain for a training module on making the aircraft.
The IAF has inducted six C-295 aircraft into its Vadodara-based 11 Squadron based in Vadodara. The aircraft can carry up to nine tonnes of payload, or as many as 71 troops, at a maximum cruise speed of 260 knots.
PMs Modi and Sánchez have previously held meetings at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in 2018 and in Rome in 2021. They also spoke on the telephone on 15 February 2023.
Spain is a constitutional monarchy with King Felipe VI as the current Head of State. In the Spanish system, the Head of the Government, the Prime Minister-equivalent, is called the President of the Government.
On Monday afternoon, Sánchez and Modi held a bilateral meeting. The Spanish leader will subsequently visit Mumbai, and depart for Spain from there. This is the first visit to India by a Spanish PM in 18 years.
King Juan Carlos I visited India in 2012 on a state visit. Thereafter, Prime Minister Modi visited Spain in 2017.
Spain is the 16th largest investor in India with a cumulative FDI of $4.2 billion (April 2000-June 2024). There are more than 230 Spanish companies active in India, and around 80 Indian companies in Spain.
Two-way trade between the two countries stood at $9.9 billion in 2023, with India’s exports valued at $7.17 billion and imports at $2.74 billion.