Indian Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday announced that he is “actively pursuing” plane manufacturing company Airbus to begin manufacturing their Airbus airplanes in the country. “I’m actively pursuing Airbus to try and get them to come to India to start manufacturing aeroplanes in India,” said Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
His statement came during the CEO session at the Toy Fair 2021. The Toy Fair 2021 was India’s first toy fair. In the session, the Commerce and Industry Minister mentioned how India is on its way to dominate the toy sector that’s spread across the world, and “anything short of that would be a terrible disappointment”.
In his session, Goyal also gave a glimpse into an incident from his childhood about toy setups for planes. This influenced him to later become a toy manufacturer in his adulthood. In the speech, he said, “It is another matter that I don’t think I will be able to do it, but I’m actively pursuing Airbus to try and get them to come to India to start manufacturing aeroplanes in India”.
He also assured that toy clusters in India will be given the best support and no stones will be left unturned in that pursuit. Goyal also said that the government will make it easier for toy clusters to operate freely by getting environment clearances, and quality regulation compliances.
He also assured that wherever toy clusters will be formed in India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will be forming laboratories that will ensure quality assurance of the products. Later, Goyal asked the current toy industry to focus on creating better quality products and meet quality standards as that is the only way how the country would be able to engage with the world. Goyal said, “The moment we start making good quality, we will naturally become a player in international trade. It is only the quality culture which will help us to engage with the world and help us to expand our own contribution to resilient supply chains & future businesses.”
As for the airplane conglomerate, Airbus can use this opportunity to establish a dominant presence in India, the world’s second-largest market in terms of aircraft orders. In its pursuit, it can ultimately be a strong rival to Boeing. Boeing has been on backfoot due to Max 737 aircraft being grounded, and if reports are to be believed, Boeing may have dropped its plans of creating a manufacturing base in India.
It should be noted for Airbus A320 aircraft, economy air-service carriers Indigo and GoAir have helped the company maintain a lead over its American rival Boeing. Especially, when it comes to the commercial aircraft sector of the country.
According to Airbus rival Boeing’s estimate, the Indian aviation market will face a need of 2,380 airplanes by 2040, valued at around $330 billion. Though COVID-19 may have made a minuscule difference in the estimate, the Indian aviation market has been on a correction road.
It was not always that Airbus had a significant grip over the Indian market. Boeing had a presence in India for 75 years in its 103-year journey in India. Boeing’s biggest customer came in the form of the Indian Air Force in 1940. Meanwhile, in commercial aviation, Air India (earlier started as Tata Airlines), was a Boeing buyer. Boeing’s market presence should not be dismissed completely due to the current lead of Airbus. Boeing does approximately $1 billion worth of procurement from the nation annually. Compared to the $650 million that Airbus spends; Boeing is still a giant that is yet to be slain.
