"C-295 Aircraft production factory to boost India-Spain ties, Make in India mission": PM Modi

Vadodara: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that Tata Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft will strengthen India-Spain relations as well as 'Make in India, Make for the World' mission.
"This is my friend Pedro Sanchez's first visit to India. From today, we are giving a new direction to India and Spain's partnership. We are inaugurating the production factory of C-295 aircraft. This factory will strengthen India-Spain relations as well as 'Make in India, Make for the World' mission," PM Modi said.
He said that the late Ratan Tata would have been happy with the inauguration of Tata Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft.
He added that the C-295 aircraft factory reflects the new work culture of New India and highlighted the factory's potential to export aircraft globally, just like metro coaches manufactured in Vadodara are being exported to other countries.
"Recently, we lost the country's great son Ratan Tata ji. If he had been among us today, he would have been happy, but wherever his soul is, he would be happy. This C-295 aircraft factory reflects the new work culture of New India ... When I was the Gujarat CM, it was decided to set up a factory in Vadodara to build train coaches. The factory was also prepared for production within a record time. Today, we are exporting the metro coaches manufactured in that factory to other countries. I am confident that in the future, the aircraft made in this factory will also be exported to other countries," PM Modi said.
PM Modi said that the defence manufacturing ecosystem in India was touching new heights due to concrete steps taken by his government.
"Today the defence manufacturing ecosystem in India is touching new heights. If we had not taken concrete steps 10 years ago, it would have been impossible to reach this level today. At that time, no one could even imagine that there could be such large-scale defence manufacturing in India. But we decided to walk on the new path, set a new goal for ourselves. And today the result is before us... We expanded private sector participation in defence manufacturing, made the public sector efficient, converted the Ordinance Factories into seven big companies, strengthened DRDO and HAL, built two big defence corridors in UP and Tamil Nadu. Many such decisions filled the defence sector with new energy," PM Modi said.
PM Modi said that the new facility would also generate thousands of new jobs and the focus was now on turning the country into an aviation hub.
"In the last 5-6 years, 1000 new defence startups have come up in India. In the last ten years, the defence exports of India increased by 30 times. Today, we export defence equipment to more than 100 countries. Today, we are focusing on skill and job creation in the country. Thousands of jobs will be created from this factory of the Airbus and Tata," PM Modi said.
"All of you have witnessed unprecedented growth and transformation in India's aviation sector in the last decade. We are already working to make India an aviation hub. This ecosystem will pave the way for Made in India civil aircraft in the future. Various Indian airlines have placed orders for 1200 new aircraft... this factory is going to play a major role in the design and manufacturing of civil aircraft to meet the future needs of India and the world." he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, jointly inaugurate the TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft at TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) Campus in Vadodara.
A total of 56 aircraft are there under the C-295 programme, of which 16 are being delivered directly by Airbus from Spain and the remaining 40 are to be made in India. Tata Advanced Systems Ltd is responsible for making these 40 aircrafts in India. This facility will be the first private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft in India.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, witnessed cultural performances and greet people during their roadshow in Vadodara.