PM Modi inaugurates new campus of Boeing in Bengaluru
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new state of the art Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center and launched the Boeing Sukanya programme in Bengaluru on Friday. In his address during the inaugural ceremony, the Prime Minister pointed out that the Boeing facility in Bengaluru strengthens the ‘Make in India-Make for the World’ resolution and reinforces the World’s trust in India’s talent.
He foresaw a possibility of India designing aircraft of the future in the Boeing facility in Bengaluru. With Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing factory and the Boeing facility inaugurated today, the Prime Minister said that Karnataka is the new aviation hub in the country. He said that the center is encouraging state governments to reduce taxes related to aviation fuel and also working to make Aircraft Leasing easier.
He also mentioned the International Financial Services Centers Authority established in Gift City to reduce India’s offshore dependence on aircraft leasing and financing. He added that the aviation sector of the entire country will benefit from this. He pointed out that India is becoming one of the most well connected markets due to the policy initiatives of the Central Government.
He said, with just 70 operational airports in 2014, the country has today 150 operational airports, the efficiency of which is also being enhanced with increase in air cargo capacity. India has become the world’s third largest domestic aviation market. The PM said, in a decade, the number of domestic passengers has doubled. The schemes like UDAN have played a big role in this. Indian airlines fleet size is increasing due to growing demand.
He emphasised that the rapidly growing aviation sector is giving impetus to India’s overall growth and employment generation. The Prime Minister informed that 15 percent of India’s pilots are women which is three times more than the global average. He expressed the Government commitment to create new opportunities for women in the aerospace sector.
He acknowledged the contribution of Boeing in giving a boost to women participation in the aviation sector by helping the poor living in far flung areas to realise their dreams of becoming pilots through the Boeing Sukanya programme. The Prime Minister noted that the historic success of Chandrayaan has infused scientific temper among the youth of India.
Saying that building a developed India in the next 25 years has now become the resolve of 140 crore Indians, he emphasized that in the last 9 years, approximately 25 crore Indians were lifted out of poverty and these crores of Indians are now creating a neo-middle class.
He mentioned upward mobility being seen as a trend in every income group in India. Recalling his declaration from the Red Fort, ‘Yahi Samay hai, Sahi Samay Hai’, the Prime Minister said that this is also the right time for Boeing and other international companies to link their growth with India’s rapid rise.
