Boeing to Expand Sourcing & Manufacturing in India

• Boeing expands in India with sourcing, manufacturing, and co-production goals
• Strengthening defence ties through co-development and P-8I aircraft sales
• Supports reforms and trade, citing GST improvements and bilateral synergy

Boeing is seeking to enhance its position in India through increased sourcing and manufacturing, and through reform efforts to enhance India’s naval and defence industries.

Salil Gupte, President of India & South Asia at Boeing, stressed that the company is very much committed to co-development and co-production in India. "We are here to support co-development and co-production goals in India. Our sourcing and the deals we pursue will largely align with those goals", he added.

Boeing has already worked with Indian companies on a variety of projects that include maritime patrol operators and unmanned systems, which reflects the company's desire to engage with local capabilities.

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Gupte characterized India as a significant market for growth and innovation. "Opportunities remain, such as including aviation turbine fuel under GST. This would provide a significant boost to the aviation industry and help airlines remain globally competitive", he noted.

He recognized some recently made changes in GST, and suggested additional steps could enhance the aviation and defence sector.

 He indicated that Boeing was still evaluating the contact and impacts of tariffs, while remaining optimistic about the prospects of the US India trade - evidenced by the company's experience with strong bilateral support and trade; on the defence side.

Boeing continues engagement with India on co-development scenarios, foreign military sales (including expanding P8-I maritime surveillance aircraft capability) and aims to expand the US-India defence partnership even further by leveraging engineering expertise as well as supply-chain capabilities in India, to contribute to India's self-reliance in defence manufacturing.