India’s aviation sector at inflection point, experts call for design-led growth

India’s aerospace and aviation sector is poised for significant growth, driven by manufacturing and advanced technologies. Experts at a global conference urged a shift towards design, MRO and innovation, while highlighting the need for supportive policy frameworks and global collaboration.

New Delhi: India’s aerospace and aviation sector is at an inflection point with huge potential for growth driven by aerospace and defense manufacturing sector in India, and listed technology, particularly AI, global competitiveness, safety and efficiency, experts have said.

Industry leaders and policymakers at the International Conference on Future of Aviation and Aerospace (FOAA) urged collaborative efforts to move beyond assembly to higher‑value design and lifecycle services, stressing resilience and sustainability as the sector scales.

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The event was hosted by IIM Bangalore, in partnership with TBS Education, France. Top executives in the sector, entrepreneurs, policy makers, innovators and researchers attended the event.

“India’s aerospace and aviation sector is at an inflection point, so the time is right to identify strategic priorities that can shape growth,” said Conference Co-chair Prof. G Shainesh, Professor of Marketing & Chairperson of IIMBx, the digital learning arm of IIMB..

Prof. S Raghunath, Conference Co‑chair, asked, Prof. S Raghunath, Conference Co‑chair said advancing design capabilities instead of remaining an assembling giant, leading in the MRO and life cycle intelligence instead of remaining the IT backroom of the world, will be the deciding factors for India to lead the sector.

Speakers said demand and industrial opportunity have converged to spur growth, but warned that policy and regulation must keep pace with innovation.

Annett Baessler, Deputy Consul General, German Consulate General in Bengaluru, pointed to deepening India–Europe ties in aviation, citing the signing of India’s MoU with Lufthansa, and the broader momentum in bilateral cooperation.

Highlighting industry linkages, she observed that India has emerged as one of Airbus’s largest engineering hubs outside Europe, with the company’s footprint spanning commercial, defence, and space operations.

“India has become a key partner for Germany not only on the manufacturing front, but as a rising force in engineering and design”, she said.

She also underlined India’s order of aircrafts, alongside India’s ‘Make in India’ push, as evidence of the nation’s growing, globally competitive capabilities.

Baessler noted that the proposed EU–India Free Trade Agreement could further accelerate cooperation, particularly in areas such as maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), workforce development and overall sectoral integration.

“Over the last 20 years, Indian aviation has seen exponential growth – across safety, technology, systems, processes, and customer service,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, Director – Air India Aviation Academy, Air India Limited.

He highlighted huge room for growth as the density of Indian air travel is still at 1/10th of our population. India’s real differentiator, he suggested, will lie in scaling its value chain through new-age technology.