Prime Minister Narendra Modi batted for India as a global aviation hub, and not just in flights and airports, but as a value chain leader straddling everything from “design to delivery.”
The world’s biggest aviation companies should not just ‘Make in India’, but also “design in India,” the Prime Minister exhorted the gathering of the who’s who of global aviation at the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) annual meet.
In his inauguration speech at the annual meet which is happening in India after four decades, the PM described the country as a “rising leader in the global aviation-aerospace convergence.”
“In the global aviation ecosystem, we are not just a big market, but a leader in policy, innovation and inclusive development,” he said.
#WATCH | Delhi: At AGM of IATA (International Air Transport Association), PM Modi says, "There is another emerging sunrise sector - MRO i.e., Maintenance Repair and Overhaul. With our new MRO policies, the effort to make India a global hub of aircraft maintenance has picked up… pic.twitter.com/v9hJmqICG1
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2025
While India’s achievements in the civil aviation sector — becoming the third biggest aviation market in the world after the US and China and the fast-increasing passenger, cargo traffic and airport infra, are commendable enough, Modi’s speech was more a future business pitch, calling upon the aviation makers to come to set up manufacturing facilities in the country.
#WATCH | Delhi: At AGM of IATA (International Air Transport Association), PM Modi says, "Today, we stand at a juncture where our travel plan is restricted not just to the cities on earth. Today, humans are dreaming of commercialising space flights and interplanetary journeys, and… pic.twitter.com/LAsLjBrYaJ
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2025
Modi highlighted the focus on civil aviation manufacturing incentives in the last union budget and specifically on ‘Mission Manufacturing’. He pointed to the scope of aircraft leasing being kick-started through the special economic zone in Gujarat’s GIFT City. “The laws are strong and transparent while the tax structure is simple. It is a great opportunity for the world’s biggest aviation companies to invest in India.”
The PM also touched upon other areas of scope for international civil aviation investment into India — from pilot and other skilled manpower training and sourcing to specifically, the maintenance, repairing and overhaul (MRO) sector which he described as another ‘sunrise’ sector.
“We are aiming at making India a global maintenance hub. In 2014, India had 96 MRO facilities, today there are 154 MROs. The government’s push offers 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) under automatic route and GST discounts. By 2030, India should be a four billion dollar MRO hub.”
Interestingly, the PM’s speech did not limit itself to just airlines, plane manufacturing, training or maintenance alone. Starting off his speech talking about aviation-aerospace convergence, the prime minister spoke of imagination not being limited by long haul flights, but interplanetary ones, too.
“It is still some distance away, but India is ready for all these sorts of possibilities,” Modi said.
