Towards Energy Efficiency
Published on : Saturday 04-03-2023
India’s aviation industry is in ferment.
Close on the heels of the order of 470 aircraft by Air India with Boeing (250) and Airbus (270), with more to follow according to sources, there is news coming in that Indigo is set to place a humongous order of similar scale. The announcement of the USD70 bn order made during the Aero India 2023 show held at Yelahanka – Bangalore in mid-February took the aviation world by surprise. But it was just the proverbial icing on the cake, which was of course the 5-day show which had an appropriate theme: ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’. The event sent a clear signal that India is now emerging as a force to reckon with in the civil-military aviation scene with indigenous products like the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas; HAL HTT-40 trainer; Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH); Light Combat Helicopter (LCH); and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). These developments augur well for the MSME segment as they help them integrate into the supply chain of the global aviation industry.
The Cover Story this month is on the changing contours of the manufacturing scene in the country with the gradual shift towards digital transformation. To compete globally, the Indian manufacturing sector must embrace automation and digitalisation in all aspects of the manufacturing ecosystem. To take the example of the aviation sector, back in the 1990s, Boeing boldly made the decision to design the Boeing 777 virtually by pre-assembling all the parts in three dimensions – bypassing paper blueprints altogether, a move that revolutionised the aviation industry, saving time and resources to make it globally competitive. Today, everything from planes to paper clips is digitally designed and tested, validated and only then manufactured, customised to individual preferences! There is no time to reinvent the wheel. The template is ready – the industry just needs to adapt it.
