Rolls-Royce eyes major India expansion

British aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce on Sunday said it is looking at making India its third “home market” outside of the UK in line with a plan to unlock the full potential of opportunities across an array of domains including jet engine, naval propulsion, land systems and advanced engineering.

- PTI

In an interview to PTI, Sashi Mukundan, the executive vice president of Rolls-Royce India, elaborating on the move, said the company is planning for a “big investment’ in the country and listed developing a next-generation aero engine in India as a priority to power the combat jets that New Delhi will produce under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.

Besides the UK, Rolls Royce considers the US and Germany as its “home markets” as the company has considerable presence including manufacturing facilities in these two countries.

Mukundan also highlighted how Rolls Royce can contribute significantly to address India’s requirement for electric propulsion capability for boosting the Indian Navy’s combat prowess.

He suggested that the development of the jet engine for the AMCA involving Rolls Royce could also help India manufacture engines for naval propulsion as the company is among very few engine makers globally to have the capability to “marinize the aero engine”

Mukundan, without divulging specific details, said Rolls Royce was eyeing to make significant investment to expand its footprint in India, noting that the country has “scale, policy clarity, and a strong push” towards a defence and industrial ecosystem that is expanding rapidly and becoming more sophisticated.