E-Paper
Catalysing India’s aerospace ambitions
This article is authored by Ashish Saraf, vice president & country head, India, Pratt & Whitney.
India stands at a defining moment in its industrial history. With the nation’s leadership setting a transformative vision to achieve developed nation status by 2047, the roadmap to economic sovereignty is clear. A cornerstone of this vision, articulated in 2021, is the drive toward self-reliance in advanced technology sectors. Among these, the aerospace and defense domains represent the pinnacle of industrial capability. The objective is bold: to position India among the top five global aerospace nations, driven by a symbiotic relationship between public and private enterprise. However, bridging the historical gap between aspiration and execution requires a catalyst. A specific, thoughtfully designed Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is the mechanism required to give wings to India’s aerospace ambitions.
To understand the scale of the challenge, one must acknowledge the historical context. Since the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight in 1903, the global aerospace industry has enjoyed over a century of continuous innovation. This evolution—from rudimentary propeller-driven airframes to modern jet-propelled platforms equipped with cutting-edge avionics—has resulted in a sophisticated aviation ecosystem with deeply embedded and networked global supply chains.
In addition, the aerospace and defence industry is arguably the most complex and sophisticated industrial sector, even in comparison to the automotive and consumer electronics sectors. A large commercial aircraft is comprised of as many as six million individual parts, while even smaller regional aircraft utilise over 300,000 components. Commercial aircraft are widely regarded as the second most complex manufactured product, trailing only the space shuttle.
The barriers to entry are high. A propulsion system alone accounts for roughly 45% of an aircraft’s value and contains approximately 30,000 precision-engineered parts. In this sector, quality is not merely a metric; it is an existential requirement. Every component must meet exacting safety and efficiency standards. In the competitive global aviation market, efficiency dictates success, a reality underscored by the need to meet rigorous fuel-efficiency and performance benchmarks.
For India to develop a globally competitive indigenous aerospace sector—one capable of producing platforms that international carriers desire—systemic intervention is required in the form of sustained government support and strategic policy. Today, nations like Turkey and Japan are deploying aggressive incentives to bolster their domestic capabilities, recognizing that aerospace sovereignty is non-negotiable.
India has already experienced the efficacy of such policy interventions through the PLI scheme for drones. The need now is for a scaled-up, robust framework dedicated to the broader commercial and defence aerospace ecosystem. A targeted PLI scheme is essential to incentivise both foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers and domestic manufacturers to commit to mass production within India. It is the financial and strategic bridge necessary to mature the domestic industrial base.
For a PLI scheme to deliver structural change rather than just a temporary solution, it must be architected with a long-term view. An incremental framework, spanning a 10-year incentive horizon, offers the most pragmatic path to success. This model should support domestic manufacturers, global entities, and joint venture companies alike.
In the initial phase, incentives would drive the localisation of manufacturing and assembly. Over the decade, as local industries acquire deep domain expertise, the focus would shift from simple assembly to subsystem localisation, and eventually to advanced design, IP creation, and full-system integration. Eventually, the goal is for Indian entities to achieve technological parity with global benchmarks, transforming from "build-to-print" shops into "build-to-spec" innovators.
The successful rollout of such a scheme would be the catalyst to deliver benefits across the Indian economy. Global aerospace companies, many of whom already source approximately $2 billion annually from India, already recognise the country's potential. Currently, India contributes roughly 2% to the global aerospace supply chain, and the industry is confident this can rise to 10% within the next decade given the right policy environment.
A PLI scheme would encourage global players to deepen their sourcing footprint, pulling Indian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into the global value chain. This exposure is critical as it compels local suppliers to adopt global quality standards, upgrading their capabilities to step into Tier 1 and Tier 2 roles. The result would be a vast, expansive manufacturing ecosystem capable of producing the millions of high-precision components required for modern flight.
By increasing indigenous content, India gains strategic autonomy. The armed forces benefit from improved availability of spares, shorter repair loops, and more predictable lifecycle support, freeing the nation from external dependencies during critical junctures. Thus, a dedicated aerospace PLI advances economic growth and strategic security simultaneously.
Finally, capital and policy alone cannot build an aviation industry; a highly trained workforce. The success of the PLI scheme depends on the development of a specialised workforce that is skilled in the aerospace sector. Globally, 1.7 million people work as aerospace engineers and designers. India must invest heavily in education to meet the global and domestic demand for highly skilled aerospace professionals.
The PLI ecosystem must foster intense education and training, creating the next generation of aeronautical engineers, R&D scientists, and precision technicians. These are the minds that will not only manufacture to existing standards but will eventually develop the innovative technologies of the future.
India stands on the precipice of a new industrial era. India’s ambition to become among the top-five aerospace nations is attainable, but it requires the adoption of a targeted policy framework. A well-structured PLI scheme serves as the foundation for this transformation, incentivising the global collaboration and local innovation necessary to compete on the world stage. By nurturing a complex ecosystem of suppliers, enforcing global standards, and developing dual-use capabilities, India can transition from a buyer to a builder. In doing so, the nation will not only realize its economic potential but will truly embody the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, securing its skies and its future through self-reliance and engineering excellence. PLI schemes offered at the state levels need to be augmented with a PLI scheme from Government of India as well to really make it attractive.
India also needs to make aerospace grade raw materials available in country and reduce its reliance on raw materials that are imported which is the case now.
This article is authored by Ashish Saraf, vice president & country head, India, Pratt & Whitney.
