New Delhi, Nov 26 (UNI) After virtually inaugurating the Safran Aircraft Engine Services India (SAESI) facility in Hyderabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that Safran's new facility will help establish India as a global MRO hub, creating new opportunities for youth in the high-tech aerospace sector.
"India's aviation sector takes a new flight. Safran's new facility will help establish India as a global MRO hub. This MRO facility will create new opportunities for the youth in the high-tech aerospace sector," the Prime Minister said, adding that he hopes Safran's investment in India will continue at this pace.
PM Modi said that India's aviation sector has advanced at an unprecedented pace in recent years and that today, "India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing domestic aviation markets. Our domestic market is the third largest in the world."
"It is for the first time that a global Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) deep-level servicing facility is being established, which marks an entirely new flight for the country's aviation sector," he said, expressing confidence that Safran's global training, knowledge transfer, and collaboration with Indian institutions will create a workforce that provides new direction and momentum to the MRO ecosystem.
He also underscored that the facility will help create employment opportunities for youth in the southern region.
India, he noted, is not limited to aviation MRO. The government also aims to build an MRO ecosystem in the shipping sector, and large-scale work is underway in this direction.
He added that in recent years, the country's aviation sector has expanded rapidly, making India's domestic aviation market one of the fastest-growing in the world.
The Prime Minister emphasized that with increasing air travel demand in India, airlines are expanding their fleets and have recently placed orders for over 1,500 aircraft. He said that with this expansion, MRO requirements are also increasing, and so far, 85% of this work has been carried out overseas, resulting in higher expenses and longer aircraft downtime.
" Today, India is one of the fastest-growing domestic . Today, the aspirations of the people of India are touching a new sky. So, demands for air travel in India are rising. Our airlines are continuously expanding their fleet," he said.
"Indian airlines have placed an order for over 1500 new aircraft. Due to rapid expansion of India's aviation sector, the need for maintenance, repair and overhaul is increasing. 85% of our MRO work has been happening outside the country. This added to the expenses and it took more time; aircraft used to remain grounded for a longer period of time. This situation was not good for a large aviation market like India. So, today, Govt of India is developing the country as a large MRO hub," PM Modi said.
SAESI is Safran's dedicated Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility for LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engines, which power the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
He urged Safran to explore possibilities for aircraft engine and component design in India, noting that the MSME network could support this effort. "We are dreaming big, doing bigger, and delivering the best," the Prime Minister said.