At the Aero MRO A&D 2022 conclave, it was on opportunity to meet Anil Kumar Kapoor, Executive Director( Engg), AIESL .We discussed on various keys issues pertinent to AIESL vision, govt policy, scope ahead for Indian MRO , disinvestment etc. Excerpts from the interaction… Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World What are the priorities areas that you are seeking for MRO sector on behalf of AIESL for 2023? We are looking for the potential segment of base maintenance, engine MRO and component facility which already exists with AIESL. We want to penetrate deep into international markets and perhaps as of now only 5-8 % share is within India and rest all is going as import to OEMS & manufacturers. So, we definitely like to retain this share outgo within India and with government thrust on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ we look forward to retain business In-house and perhaps in keys areas, we are announcing our capabilities, capacities to match anticipated work load. As India will be emerging as a 3rd largest aviation market in the world, so MRO sector is also bound to grow by leaps & bounds. To cater to these requirements, definitely we are upgrading our skill set, increasing our man power, penetrating deep into the market segments, getting more clients on board l. We are perhaps getting a new customer in the shape of defence sector. We have jointly signed many agreements; MoU with regard to DRDO , IAF and some mission aircrafts also to cater to their specific needs, base maintenance, C -Checks , D- Checks , structure repair, modifications, etc. How India will be able to retain MRO business within India, which seems to be potential challenge as of now? You rightly pointed out that majority chunk is going out of India as imports, be it OEMs support, spare support, and the proprietary rights which OEMS and manufacturers are not ready to share with other competitors. We need to have collaborations with bigger players and different OEMS to come down to India and have JVs and joint working groups or some MoUs need to be signed on dotted lines so as to improve infrastructure and give a manufacturing boost within India so as to at the same time will be catering to Make in India and Atmanirbhar drive and save foreign currency outgo and generate lot of employment. These are potential segments and can’t be imagined the inflow of new orders of aircrafts, defence aircrafts. So, we need to have JV and share the skill set with OEMS and perhaps give them lucrative offer in our various locations to set up their manufacturing hubs there. And, perhaps from here we can export to different part of the world. What’s your take on the taxation part, which has always been red flagged by the MRO industry? There are lot of things that have been done by the Civil Aviation ministry and Govt. of India. Earlier, the taxation policies were very high and recently, few months back it has been reduced which makes us more competitive when we compare with Malaysia and other Asian counterpart’s because there the taxation policies are as good as negligible. But, presently in India also its almost 5 % which is not much . Apart from that some customs relaxations with regard to procurement of spares and if further something down with taxation can be done, it will further announce MRO activities and boost will be given to this industry. What are the issues which need to be resolved to avoid safety challenges of our aircrafts? There are definitely some issues which have come to light in the recent past. There are few cases with engines related to maintenance and quality compromises or some known glitches which vendor also acknowledges by airlines. Although parallel maintenance activities to counter such incidents are already being initiated by airlines. But, still few incidents keep on happening, at the same time the manufacturers are also taking corrective steps to stop such incidents. They do lot of investigation and research putting lot of efforts to avoid reoccurrence. Our regulator DGCA had its own audits program, spot checks and they are very careful on such issues. Is disinvestment still a long way process for AIESL? No, it should not be a long way process as DIPAM secretary, MoCA, is all geared up and we ourselves have given all data to our advisors who are taking it forward. May be by this year end all documents should be ready and global tender should be floated out. So, whosoever is the contender, with the highest bid will take over AIESL. We expect it to be selling within this FY itself hopefully, keeping all finger crossed.
