PM Modi lays foundation stone of Gujarat plant for C-295 planes: Top 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for a manufacturing facility of the Tata-Airbus consortium. This is the country’s first aircraft manufacturing facility in the private sector, and has been pitched as a crucial step towards “Atmanirbharta” (or self-reliance). The C-295 aircraft - which would be manufactured at the facility - aims to modernise the Indian Air Force (IAF) fleet. The total cost of the project is said to be around ₹21,935 crore.

Here are ten points on Sunday’s event and PM Modi’s Gujarat visit:

1. "Tomorrow, 30th October will always be remembered as a special day in our quest to attain Atmanirbharta and emerging as a hub for next-gen infrastructure relating to aviation sector. Looking forward to the programme in Vadodara," PM Modi wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

2. The facility comes following a collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Spain-based Airbus Defence and Space.

3. Last year, India had sealed a nearly ₹21,000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space for 56 C-295 planes. While first 16 planes would be delivered from Spain, 40 of these aircraft would be manufactured at the Vadodara facility.

4. This is the first time that the C-295 planes - that are set to replace Avro-748 planes of Air Force - would be manufactured outside Europe.

5. PM Modi will also visit an exhibition showcasing technological and manufacturing strides in the aerospace industry under Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

6. The project, however, has triggered a row in Maharashtra with the opposition accusing the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government of losing the plant to Gujarat where elections are due in few months,

7. The ruling coalition had earlier attempted to house the joint venture at the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport (MIHAN) in Nagpur.

8. The project is expected to generate tens of thousands jobs at a time when the opposition has been attacking the BJP over the issue of unemployment ahead of the 2024 national elections.

9. Meanwhile, on Monday, PM Modi would be in Kevadia to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

10. “The celebration will witness Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Parade, which will include contingents of BSF and of five State Police Forces, one each from Northern Zone (Haryana), Western Zone (Madhya Pradesh), Southern Zone (Telangana), Eastern Zone (Odisha) and North Eastern Zone (Tripura). Apart from the contingents, six Police Sports Medal winners of the Commonwealth Games 2022 will also participate in the Parade,” a government statement read. PM Modi would be in Rajasthan on Tuesday.