By Kamal Shah
The MRO industry in India has taken a whirlwind 360-degree turn post-pandemic. With the contributions from aviation stakeholders in the country to OEMs and third-party MROs supported by the government, it is about time that India established a solid MRO foundation for the upcoming demand over the coming decade. On this backdrop, Kamal Shah, Editor, of Indian Aerospace and Defence had a detailed chat with Jetendra S Gavankar, Chief Executive, Country Head India, Safran. Gavankar explained the current MRO scenario in India and how it is slowly changing over the years, Safran’s contribution to India’s aerospace growth, the expansion plans and much more… Read On!
Q – Safran has a very strong presence in India, a little over 65 years to be exact. What are your views on the booming aviation and MRO market in India? Do you think India has a firm and solid foundation to meet/tackle the rising demand for air travel and incoming aircraft?
MRO capability has been behind the curve in India in the past, specifically for Engine and Component MRO, compared to the growth in aviation traffic and airport infrastructure. Building such a capability in the country would be the key building blocks to accelerate civil aviation growth in the near future.
Up to a few years ago, only a very limited percentage of MRO for India was conducted in India. Many reasons for that:
- the industry may not be mature enough to conduct MRO,
- but more importantly, the GST rules were making the MRO uncompetitive compared to MROs being conducted out of India.
- The A&D industry had many interactions with the government and excellent support from MOCA which resulted in a revised GST application in March 2020 just before the Covid pandemic hit India. The recent announcement/notification on 5% GST irrespective of HST code classification has further helped the sector. The scene is now cleared for MRO (at least from the tax viewpoint) to really grow in India.
- However, I think it should really be included in the complete effort to develop autonomy in India.
Of course, Support Services just does not include MRO, but it goes down to parts repair or even parts manufacturing. In summary, one way to accelerate the MRO growth in India would also be to develop at the same time production capabilities and even design capabilities.
Another important way to accelerate this growth soon would be to offer incentives for OEMs to develop local know-how, to transfer such OEM capabilities. This can be and is done via incentives (state and Central government level) and the offset obligations that some OEMs have committed to should also be considered as a good opportunity to further develop MRO. Indeed, OEMs will be looking for ways to get offset credit on MRO investments. It should be highlighted that MRO is an agreed avenue to fulfill offset. That will for sure add some incentive and motivation to OEM to invest in developing the MRO in India.
Q – Can you throw some light on the work/progress of the LEAP MRO facility in Hyderabad? The MRO is expected to be operational by 2025, do you think you will meet the deadline?
With 2,200 LEAP engines on order in the region, Safran is building one of its future largest MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in the world in Hyderabad. Construction of this 150-million-euro plant had started late last year with the objective to be fully operational by 2025 and we are on track.
With the hiring and training of staff, the first core team of key employees (whom we aptly call “pioneers”) have already started their training, and the company is continuing to recruit engineering people, technicians and operators.
Safran Aircraft Engines’ MRO shop will be the first of its kind opened by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in India, putting India on the global MRO map and paving the way for other OEMs to take the plunge.
The MRO ecosystem will help leverage India’s engineering advantage, a major step towards achieving self-reliance in airline operations, and developing the associated skills and training infrastructure – all based on the Make in India policy.
We will be developing synergies with the local aerospace ecosystem: partnerships are currently being studied with local training organizations, such as the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge, and the GMR group. Because of the high-volume commercial engine MRO business, India will be able to invest in high-tech equipment and training to foster, the development of military engine MRO capabilities, and the growth of a local supply chain for parts repair activities.
Q – Safran and HAL have partnered on several projects in India. Can you tell us your equation with HAL? Besides HAL is venturing into commercial MRO space, any possible JVs on the cards on the commercial MRO front.
You rightly said that Safran and HAL have “partnered” on a number of projects. This has been our equation since the beginning; we treat each other as “Partners”. As true partners, we always look for a win-win situation to resolve any issue. We have been supporting HAL on its Helicopter product development journey for many decades now and are proud to say that we are part of HALs rotor craft success story.
HAL is trying to venture into commercial MRO space, and they did some tie-ups with Airbus recently. We have already set up our largest commercial engine MRO in Hyderabad independently. Going forward we would be happy to discuss with HAL on opportunities for MRO in commercial space.
Q – Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Dassault are all set to establish Defence MRO in India. Your views.
It is good news that IAI and DA are establishing Defence MRO in India. That gives an indication of the growing demand and skills, which are developing in India. It also provides the necessary sovereignty to the country and operational support needed by the Armed Forces. As such the complementarity of MRO from Defence to civil will help the Indian ecosystem develop skilled manpower. India will have in coming years both civil and Defence MRO capabilities and capacities.
Q – What can you tell us about the transfer of technology, Safran has expressed its commitment to a 100% technology transfer, covering design development, certification, and production phases for the production of fighter jets in India. When do you see it expanding to civil space?
India and France as such have been cooperating in Defence and Aerospace domain for over 70 years now. Many of you here may not be aware that SAFRAN Group has been a pioneer in ToT in India and has a successful history of fruitful cooperation with India in strategic domains such as Space Rocket Engine, Helicopter Engines and Inertial Navigation Technologies, reinforcing India’s sovereignty.
The ToT done in 1974s on Liquid Fuelled Rocket engine called Viking (Societe Europeenne de Propulsion later SNECMA and now SAE) has helped India attain 100% independence in PSLV and GSLV launch technologies in due course. SAFRAN INS systems provide navigation and precision to all Indian space, missile and aircraft programs. Many of the technologies on the Turboshaft engine transferred to HAL have helped them achieve self-reliance in maintaining the engines.
Regarding the fighter jet engine Co-development, yes, we have offered 100% ToT covering all aspects of the design. The proposals from many OEMs are with DRDO and we are awaiting the green light for the program to be initiated by the Government of India. Our vision is to make sure the ecosystem is ready to support the vision of an Indian Jet Engine design and development in India and for that, Safran has invested in India on the following domains, without waiting for any upfront contract:
- Development of an Aero-engine Industrial Ecosystem with the production of complex aero-engine parts capabilities under ToT and technical support to Indian private Industries
- Establishment of aero-engine Maintenance Repair and Overhaul capabilities in India
- Enhancing the Design and Development capabilities (proposed)
The Indo-French relationship in space is spread over different facets of space science, technology and applications, including sounding rocket development, liquid engine development, hosting of payloads, joint satellite realization, training programs, satellite communication experiments and satellite launches. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (CNES) have jointly realized two world-class space Missions. We have some information that the Space Surveillance organization is looking to cooperate with India for a more comprehensive surveillance solution. Sharing of more accurate information on mutual areas of interest.
At the industry level, we are closely associated with ISRO, HAL, DRDO, BEL, BDL and many other Private entities in India for the past many decades on multiple ToT programs. We have now partnered with many new space companies and start-ups too. By building and developing industrial ecosystem and MRO capabilities in India, SAFRAN has demonstrated more than its willingness to contribute to India’s sovereignty in the aero engine, space and systems domain, resulting in increased operational preparedness of its military and reducing drastically its foreign currency spending.
Q – Is there any expansion plan on the cards in India?
Safran has been present in India for more than 65 years and has over 2,000 employees working for its 13 entities (including an engine training center) spread over 17 sites across 7 cities in India (Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Trivandrum and Goa). These companies work in the aeronautics and defence sector supporting Production, Design & Development, Engineering Services and IT backend for Safran Groups’ global and local requirements aligning fully to Make in India.
Over the past five years, Safran has stepped up its operations in India with:
• An assembly plant for electrical harnesses for the aerospace industry (2018) and a production plant for civil engine parts (2022).
• An IT support center (called DIGIT) located in Mumbai and Hyderabad (2022).
• Safran and HAL JV have doubled the capacity to equip civil engines and helicopter turbine pipes (2022).
• Acquisition of Captronics Systems to support ISRO and DRDO with space and communication technologies under the aegis of Make in India
In the next five years, we have many ambitious plans, aligned with the Indian government’s Make In India policy, such as:
• Setting up of a Helicopter Engine MRO facility with HAL at Goa (2025)
• Setting up the LEAP engine MRO plant to support Indian airlines at Hyderabad (2025)
• 75% of Indian aircraft and helicopters are equipped by Safran, 1500+ Safran helicopter turbines are in service in India and we are working closely with HAL to co-design the nextGen Turboshaft engine for HAL’s medium-lift Helicopter. This will be the next big project for Safran in the immediate future and the start of a long partnership with HAL.
• Safran Engineering Services in Bangalore will be expanding its work further serving local and global customers in niche technology areas like AI, ML, AR, VR, data analytics, IoT, automation, health monitoring and additive manufacturing.
• Mirage 2000 and Rafale aircraft are powered by Safran engines for which we will keep innovating to support the IAF.
We are always open to looking at collaborating on DRDO’s future fighter engine program in case India decides to develop it in-country under its “Atmanirbhar” policy framework. We have been developing a strong ecosystem of engine manufacturing technologies with Indian Industry partners to build a solid base for the future.
We are very much optimistic about the Indo-French partnership and India’s growth story due to which we have very large and long-term plans for India.
Q – What advice can you give the young aspirants planning a career in the aviation/aerospace sector?
Till a few years ago the only opportunity in India’s Aviation sector was centered around few things and that too in a limited way:
- Maintenance activities on commercial aircraft and its systems
- Manufacturing for metal parts
- Pilots and airline crew/airport crew
The civil aviation sector is now at a breakout point and is poised to be 2X from here by 2032. India will be the third-largest aviation sector by the end of this decade. Obviously, there would be many multifold opportunities coming up in each of these domains. Apart from this Aerospace Manufacturing, industry is at the cusp of maturity in India with many companies investing in technologies, machines and skills. They would need quality manufacturing and design engineers in years to come. I am sure a few of the young talent will get the opportunity to do product development ground up too. A lot of entrepreneurship is seen in defence and space sector in India, which would open up more and more opportunities for young talent.