During the opening of Boeing's engineering center in Bengaluru, India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a significant announcement that marked a new milestone in the aerospace industry. He said that India would soon have a Boeing aircraft designed and built within the country. The announcement was made at the Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC), which is the largest facility outside the U.S. dedicated to research and development, located in Karnataka's capital city. The company invested $200 million in the 43-acre campus, indicating a strong commitment to the Indian market.
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Boeing's presence in India has grown significantly over the years, and it currently employs over 6,000 people across various centers in the country. At the event, top Boeing executives, including COO Stephanie Pope, were in attendance, and Modi emphasized the urgency to establish an aircraft manufacturing ecosystem in India, given the country's potential.
India is the world's fastest-growing aviation market, and its demand for travel exceeds the supply of aircraft. Therefore, Boeing has seen a growing interest in its jets in India, and the recent order for 150 737 MAX narrowbody jets from Akasa Air, India's newest airline, is a testament to this fact. Last year, India's Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, suggested in an interview with Reuters that it was time for Boeing and its competitor Airbus to consider setting up jetliner assembly in India.
Boeing's partnership with India's Tata Group to manufacture AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages and 737 aircraft vertical fin structures is already in place, and the company seems to be keen on expanding further in the Indian market. With the announcement of designing and building a Boeing aircraft in India, it appears that the company is poised to tap into the enormous potential that the Indian market holds.
