Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Chief Executive Officer Tufan Erginbilgic met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss how the company is scaling up its operations in India, including expanding its global capability centre (GCC) to become its largest worldwide, co-creating complex manufacturing and building high-value engineering capabilities. Erginbilgic, accompanied by Sashi Mukundan, Executive Vice President – Transformation India, also discussed how the company’s advanced technologies can support India’s defence and critical sector requirements.
“Our ambitions for India are built on the strong foundations of our decades-long presence in the country, our growing footprint, our deep industry partnerships, and our competitively advantaged technologies,” said Tufan Erginbilgic, Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce. “As we grow our participation in programmes across India’s defence, aviation and energy sectors, we will expand our ecosystem in India, as we have done successfully in other countries. We are determined to partner India on its Atmanirbhar journey, by developing indigenous propulsion capabilities, providing sustained power to critical infrastructure and industry, and expanding local manufacturing for global supply chains. We believe our unique portfolio of advanced capabilities can help us grow our presence and partnerships further, to power, protect and connect India for decades to come.”
More than 4,000 people currently work across the Rolls-Royce ecosystem in India, including 2,800 engineers contributing to global programmes. Over 1,400 engines power Indian defence platforms, including Jaguar aircraft, Hawk trainers and Arjun main battle tanks. The company maintains joint ventures with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Force Motors, and sources components from more than 100 vendors in the country.
Rolls-Royce announced its intention to significantly expand its business operations in India, with the aim of positioning the country as a strategic home market. The company stated that success in potential opportunities could support approximately 10,000 jobs and result in a tenfold increase in local supply chain sourcing. These initiatives are also expected to more than double the workforce supporting Rolls-Royce and its partners in India.
The company is exploring the potential co-development of a 120 kilonewton class combat jet engine core under the India-UK Vision 2035 roadmap, with an offer that includes full technology transfer and intellectual property ownership for India, supported by dedicated design and manufacturing complexes. Rolls-Royce is also seeking partnerships to localise and manufacture engines for the Indian Army, Navy and Coast Guard, and to provide power solutions for critical industries.
Rolls-Royce recently inaugurated an expanded Global Capability and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru, which it described as its largest capability hub for digital and engineering expertise. Separately, Erginbilgic met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the company’s current operations and plans to expand manufacturing for domestic and global markets.
Rolls-Royce operates two manufacturing joint ventures in India, including International Aerospace Manufacturing Pvt Ltd (IAMPL), which manufactures engine components for its global supply chain. Design work for the Trent XWB wide-body engine has been undertaken in India, reflecting the integration of Indian engineering teams into global development programmes.
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a UK-based engineering company specialising in aerospace, defence and power systems, serving civil aviation, military aviation and energy sectors.