"Aerospace Is Flagbearer Of India's Manufacturing Push": GE South Asia Chief

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will soon begin making GE Aerospace's F414 jet engine, Vikram Rai, chief executive of GE Aerospace South Asia, said at the NDTV World Summit on Monday, as he hailed the country's aerospace industry as the "flagbearer of India's manufacturing push".

The F414 engine powers some of the most advanced fighter planes in the world, including the Boeing F/A 18E/F Super Hornet, and will be the heart of the Indian Air Forces' next generation of indigenous combat aircraft.

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit Mr Rai also highlighted India's potential in the civil aviation space, pointing to two mega orders in June last year, when Air India and IndiGo ordered 970 Airbus and Boeing aircraft between them alone.

"India has approximately 800 passenger aircraft... and about 1,500 (including the Air India and IndiGo order books) are expected to be delivered over the next decade. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg and India will continue with exponential growth over the coming years," he said.

Mr Rai referred to statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today.

Prime Minister Modi, delivering the inaugural address, said eight new airports had begun operating in the 125 days of the Bharatiya Janata Party's third term (which began in June) alone.

The Indian middle class is flying more, Mr Rai said, because of the Modi government's "business-friendly" policies. "In a world full of chaos, the 'India story' is being talked about," he said.

"India has a middle class of about 400 million... the United State's total population is about 300 million. The US has about 7,800 aircraft... India has about 800 and .02 seats per capita..."

"But India is fast catching up to China, which has 0.7 seats per capita and the US, which as four seats per capita," the GE Aerospace head said, emphasising growth potential in the Indian aviation space.

"Less than five per cent of India's population has been on an aircraft... and about 85 per cent of all domestic air traffic is between metro cities. There is a huge runway for growth..." he said.

The scale of demand, he also said, underlines the importance of a sustainable industry, including the use of environmentally friendly technology. "We, at GE Aerospace have built new engines... these are 10 to 15 per cent more fuel efficient and register lower emission levels."

Mr Rai also said GE is currently working on an engine that will be 20 per cent more efficient and, as part of its manufacturing and R&D plans, will also invest millions of dollars in the Pune factory.