“India will continue to be a key contributor to our global supply chain. Our sourcing from India stands at close to $1 billion a year from more than 200 suppliers who are manufacturing critical systems and components for some of Boeing’s most advanced products,” Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India, said.

 “Our commitment to India remains strong and is for the long term. We want to contribute to the growth of India’s aerospace industry; that’s why we’re investing in commercial aviation and defence....”

 According to Gupte, the aerospace major supports the government’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives by developing Indian MSMEs through skilling and upskilling initiatives. “Our growing installed platform base with commercial and defence customers in India and our expanding supplier base makes it imperative for us to invest, develop and nurture talent,” he said.

 “Through our skilling initiatives, we are training hundreds of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, technicians, and frontline factory workers across India with our industry partners like Tata, Rossell Techsys, Jaivel and Lakshmi Machine Works. With these initiatives, among others, we are focused on creating a robust aerospace and defence ecosystem in India.” 

Gupte said the recovery of commercial aviation will take longer due to the pandemic’s depth and global nature. He described the impact as more severe than either the 9/11 terrorist attacks or the global financial crisis. “We anticipate it will take several years for travel to return to 2019 levels and a few years beyond that to return to longterm trend growth. Yet the

 fundamentals that have driven air travel for the past five decades remain intact,” Gupte said.

 “Recovery will begin with domestic air travel, followed by regional international travel, followed by long-haul travel,” he said to a query.