PM Modi inaugurates French major Safran’s MRO facility in Hyderabad; urges it to design aircraft engine, components in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) virtually inaugurated the largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility France’s Safran has established globally for LEAP engines in Hyderabad, urging the firm to explore possibilities of aircraft engine and component design in India.

Stating that the country is keen on promoting ‘Design in India’ on a large scale across every sector, the Prime Minister said India’s vast Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) network and its young talent pool will provide significant support for such efforts.

Safran Aerospace, which works extensively in aerospace propulsion systems, should also leverage India’s talent and opportunities for propulsion design and manufacturing, he said, participating through video conferencing in the function which was attended by Telangana’s Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Union Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu, the top leadership of Safran and others.

India is “dreaming big, doing bigger and delivering best” on the back of some of the biggest reforms the country has undertaken since independence to attract global investment and industries, Mr. Modi said, while highlighting various measures. “Today in most sectors, 100% foreign direct investment is possible through automatic routes. Even in sectors like defence, where earlier the private sector had no space, 74% FDI has now been opened through automatic routes. [Likewise] A major approach has also been adopted in the space sector,” he said, adding such steps have sent a clear message to the world that India welcomes investments and innovation. The government’s production linked incentive (PLI) schemes have attracted global manufacturers towards Make in India, he added.

In the past 11 years, more than 40,000 company compliances have been reduced. India has decriminalised hundreds of business-related provisions. The National Single Window System has brought numerous approvals onto a single platform. GST reforms, faceless tax assessment, new labour codes and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code have all made governance simpler and more transparent than ever before. Due to these efforts, India is now seen as a trusted partner, a major market and a rising manufacturing hub, the Prime Minister said.

Betting on India is the smartest business decision of this decade, Mr. Modi declared, citing India’s rapid growth, stable government, reform-oriented mindset, vast young talent pool and a large domestic market. Most importantly, for those investing in India, the country considers them not merely as investors but as co-creators, stakeholders in the journey of a developed India, he asserted.

With the opening of the 45,000 sqm Safran facility, set up with an initial investment ₹1,300 crore, at the GMR Aerospace and Industrial Park in Hyderabad, India’s aviation sector is taking a new flight. The facility will help establish India as a global MRO hub and create new opportunities for youth in the high-tech aerospace sector, he said.

India’s domestic aviation market has now become the third largest globally as the demand for air travel continues to rise and airlines are consistently expanding their fleet. The need for MRO facilities has increased with rapid expansion of the sector, he said, adding nearly 85% of India’s MRO work is undertaken abroad resulting in higher costs, longer turnaround times and aircraft remaining grounded for extended periods. Since this was not an ideal situation, the government is developing India as one of the world’s major MRO hubs. Safran’s facility is designed to service up to 300 LEAP engines annually and employ over 1,000 skilled Indian technicians and engineers upon achieving full operational capacity by 2035.