G295 becomes India's First Production Unit from a Private Defence Manufacturer

摘要

Giving indigenisation a push towards its 'Self-Reliant India' initiative, the foundation stone of the first project by an Indian private defence manufacturer, was recently laid in Vadodara, Gujarat. Under this deal Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus Defence and Space Spain, will collaborate to build 40 C-295 military transport planes, in a joint venture deal valued at USD 2.72 Bn for 56 aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s ageing Avro-748 transport aircraft. Out of the 56 planes, 40 will be manufactured in India, while 16 will be bought off-the-shelf. The announcement of that manufacturing line will be in India comes at a significant time, when the Indian Government is pushing for major reforms such as 'Make in India, Make for the World', thereby achieving low-cost manufacturing and high output. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated: "We aim to scale our defence manufacturing beyond USD 25 Bn by 2025, defence exports will exceed USD 5 Bn."