Scindia pitches to bring eVTOL planes to India

The government is looking to bring Electric Vertical Take off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft makers into the Indian market and explore the possibility of setting up a manufacturing base for such aircraft.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has asked Beta Technologies, which has a partnership with Blade group, to explore the Indian market for eVTOLs.

Blade already has a presence in India with its helicopter services.

eVTOLs are being deployed by the US Air Force and the Canadian Air Force. Once there is a Proof of Concept (PoC), then they can go for a certification from FAA and EASA.

FAA is the United States Federal Aviation Administration while EASA is European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Scindia, who recently visited the US and Canada where he discussed with various entities the possibilities for the Indian aviation sector, on Wednesday, said he has asked certain entities to come and explore the market in India.

"... come and have a look at India... may be exploratory, you can set up a manufacturing base in India to export to rest of Asia and the rest of the world and also look at service routes in India," he said.

During an interaction with reporters, the minister also said he has asked Airbus, Boeing and a few others to look at setting up MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) facilities in the country as a large number of planes are getting added.

"Manufacturing is a sector I am looking at aggressively...," he said.

Airlines in India are projected to add a large number of aircraft to their fleet in the coming years to cater to the growth potential of the country's aviation market.