- Inaugurated Boeing’s engineering facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- Launched the Boeing Sukanya Program for India’s aviation sector
Bengaluru. 19 January 2024 . It was a red letter day in Boeing’s history of Indian operations and for the US aviation major as a whole when Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, dedicated two landmark Boeing initiatives the engineering centre and the sukanya scheme for India’s aerospace and defence industry.
Prime Minister Modi officially commemorated the opening of the new state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC) campus in Bengaluru. Built with an investment of INR. 1,600 crore, the 43-acre campus is Boeing’s largest such investment outside the U.S., and will become a cornerstone for partnering with India on next generation products and services for the global aerospace and defense industry.
He also launched the Boeing Sukanya Program that aims to support the entry of more girl children from across India into the country’s growing aviation sector. The program will provide opportunities for girls and women from across India to learn critical skills in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and train for jobs in the aviation sector. For young girls, the program will create STEM Labs at 150 planned locations to help spark interest in STEM careers. The program will also provide scholarships to women who are training to be pilots. Investments will support flight training curriculum, obtaining certifications, funding for simulator trainings, and career development programs.
The Prime Minister was joined by Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Governor of Karnataka; Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister of Karnataka; R. Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition – Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Government of Karnataka, and Boeing Chief Operating Officer, Stephanie Pope, Head of Boeing India Salil Gupte along with other senior Boeing executives.
The Prime Minister stated, “Boeing’s new technology campus is going to strengthen this belief,” noting that it is the company’s largest facility outside of the United States. He emphasised that its size and scope will benefit not just India but the global aviation industry as well.
According to the Prime Minister, this facility shows India’s dedication to advancing global demand, design, research & innovation, and technology. He declared, “This reinforces the ‘Make in India-Make for the World’ resolution.” “The world’s confidence in India’s talent is strengthened by this campus,” he continued. He expressed hope that India will one day use this facility to design aircraft of the future. The Prime Minister noted that Karnataka’s emergence as a new aviation hub is evident in Boeing’s new facility, which opened last year and is the largest helicopter manufacturing plant in Asia. He extended special congratulations to India’s youth, who would now have numerous chances to learn new skills in the aviation sector.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s push for women-led development during its G20 Presidency and highlighted the government’s initiatives to boost women’s participation in every sector. According to him, the government is dedicated to giving women in the aerospace industry more opportunities. “India is leading the world in the number of women pilots, be it fighter pilots or civil aviation,” the prime minister declared with pride, pointing out that three times as many women as men pilot in India (15%). Speaking of the Boeing Sukanya programme, the Prime Minister stated that it will help the underprivileged who live in remote areas fulfil their dream of becoming pilots and increase the number of women working in the aviation industry. The Prime Minister announced that as part of the programme, government schools will offer career development and coaching to students who want to become pilots.
“We are honored and privileged to support Prime Minister Modi’s transformative vision for India, and we are grateful to have him dedicate the Boeing campus to foster aerospace innovation in the country,” said David L. Calhoun, Boeing president and CEO.
Stephanie Pope, Chief Operating Officer, The Boeing Company, said, “We are thrilled for Prime Minister Modi to have personally launched the Boeing Sukanya Program. Together, we will help expand opportunity for women across India to pursue careers and leadership positions in the aviation sector. The Prime Minister’s emphasis on the expansion of the aviation industry in India and his crucial contribution to the current success of the Boeing Sukanya Programme were praised by Stephanie Pope, COO of the Boeing Company. She conveyed her appreciation for the ongoing support and said she was looking forward to collaborating with you to influence aerospace in the future. According to Stephanie, the establishment of this new campus demonstrates Boeing’s commitment to its engineering heritage and its belief in the breadth, depth, and talent of India.
She went into further detail about the size of the new campus and Boeing’s strategy to establish an ecosystem that will advance India’s aerospace sector. In the end, Stephanie predicted that the new Boeing campus will rank among the most innovative manifestations of the Prime Minister’s “Atmanirbharta,” or self-reliant India initiative. She praised Boeing’s efforts to expand and create opportunities for Indian women in aviation and gave credit to the Prime Minister for coming up with the Sukanya programme idea. She said, “This programme will break down barriers and encourage more women to pursue careers in aerospace.” She went on to discuss the intentions for middle school STEM labs. She conveyed her belief that the alliance between Boeing and India would influence aviation’s future and benefit people both domestically and globally.
Over the years, Boeing India has grown its team in engineering and R&D talent to the largest number of employees in any country outside the United States, with more than 6,000 as of December 2023.
All pictures courtesy narendramodi.com
