On Monday, Prime Minister Modi and Pedro Sanchez, his Spanish colleague, officially opened the Tata-Airbus C295 aircraft production facility in Vadodara, Gujarat. Only today did the Spanish prime minister, who is visiting India for three days, arrive in Vadodara. Built at the TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) campus in partnership with Airbus Spain, Tata Advanced Systems is one of India’s most significant defence projects.
There are 56 aircraft in all under the C-295 program, 16 of which Airbus is delivering straight from Spain and the other 40 of which will be manufactured in India. The first draft of the project, which called for 15 additional C-295 aircraft—9 for the Navy and 6 for the Coast Guard—was authorised by the Defence Acquisitions Council, overseen by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in February.
India’s defence capabilities will be greatly boosted by the new production plant in Vadodara that PM Modi and the Spanish PM inaugurated. From the aircraft’s construction to assembly, testing, and qualification, as well as delivery and maintenance, the project will encompass the full development of a whole ecosystem.
The IAF’s HS-748 Avro fleet will be replaced by the C-295, which is the first time a military aircraft has been produced in India by the private sector, ending the defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics’ virtual monopoly. Besides Tata, defence public sector majors like Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Bharat Dynamics Ltd., along with private MSMEs, will contribute to creating a comprehensive ecosystem for military aircraft production in India which in turn will contribute to the Indian government’s ambition to make India a defence manufacturing hub.
Following the opening of the facility in Vadodara, PM Modi is expected to visit the Laxmi Vilas Palace before travelling to Amreli, where he will officially open the Bharat Mata Sarovar at 2:45 p.m.
Additionally, the prime minister will lay the groundwork for district development initiatives worth more than ₹4,800 crore.
