International Conference on Future of Aviation and Aerospace draws top executives and spotlights opportunities for India
IIM Bangalore, in partnership with TBS Education, France, hosted the eighth edition of the premier conference which discussed market potential; design and manufacture in India for global markets; EVtol and Drone market; and the future of AI and analytics in the sector, and more
19 April, 2025, Bengaluru: With the mission to foster meaningful dialogue that shapes the strategic direction of a sector critical to global connectivity and national growth, IIM Bangalore, in partnership with TBS Education, France, hosted the 8th edition of the International Conference on Future of Aviation and Aerospace (FOAA), today. The summit, organized by IIM Bangalore’s Executive Education Programmes, brought together top executives in the sector, policy makers and researchers to deepen the understanding of the current and future state of the sector.
The initiative is part of a broader partnership between IIM Bangalore and TBS, whose highlight is a hugely popular Executive MBA programme called the General Management Executive Education (GMAE) Programme, designed specifically for executives in the aviation and aerospace industry.
This edition of the FoAA conference was marked by insightful keynote speakers and panels anchored by several C-suite executives from aviation and aerospace companies and professors of IIM Bangalore. They discussed the market potential for aviation and aerospace in India; design and manufacture; ‘Make in India’ and achievements of Indian companies; EVtol and Drone market; and the future of AI and analytics in aviation and aerospace.
Supported by the Aerospace India Association headed by Dr Srinivasan Dwarakanath, former MD & CEO of Airbus India, the conference featured six expert panels followed by a GMAE networking event.
‘Optimize Performance, Make Better Decisions’
In his inaugural address, Sabyasachi Srinivas, Vice President, Collins Aerospace, focused on digital transformation in the aviation industry and spoke of the manufacturing, R&D and testing capabilities being developed in India. “Close to 1000 patents have come out of Collins’ facilities in India,” he said. He sees a huge opportunity for the aviation ecosystem to show India’s prowess to the world leveraging digital enablers like Generative AI & ML, and Digital Twin technology.
Describing the FoAA conference as an important interface event held every year, Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, described Dr. Kota Harinaryana, former program director and chief designer of Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft, as his “guru” and reflected on the evolution of the aviation industry in India. He also spoke of Capt. G.R. Gopinath, who democratized air travel in India with Air Deccan. “Succeeding in aviation in India is not for the faint hearted. Technology has changed the entire sector, but we still have a long way to go, especially in enhancing passenger experience and streamlining supply chains. Design, engineering and manufacturing offer huge opportunity but there is a lot of work to be done in terms of developing human capital and ensuring their well-being,” he added.
Prof. G. Shainesh, Conference Chair, briefly touched upon the origin and growth of the FoAA conference, over the last eight years, and said it has grown into a platform that brings together the brightest minds in the sector.
Emphasizing the huge opportunity in the sector, Conference Chair Prof. S. Raghunath said, “India aims to capture 10% of the global aerospace supply chain market within the next decade, capitalizing on its expanding manufacturing capabilities and strategic partnerships. Major firms like Airbus, Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce are increasingly sourcing components from India to mitigate western supply chain disruptions. Indian firms are transitioning from basic manufacturing to high-value activities such as design and engineering.” He also spoke of the challenge relating to rising operational costs, including fuel prices and maintenance expenses, exerting financial pressure on airlines, necessitating strategic cost management. “Developing in-house MRO facilities or partnering with local certified providers can reduce reliance on foreign services, cutting costs by up to 30-40%,” he added.
Prof. Christophe Benaroya, Head – MSc Program in Aerospace Management, TBS Education, spoke of the fruitful 10-year association with IIM Bangalore with the GMAE programme, which has over 350 alumni in key roles in global aerospace firms and has led to several quality research papers and increased Indo-French cooperation.
Exploring Market Potential for Aviation
The first panel featured Sunil Bhaskaran, Director – Air India Aviation Academy, Air India Limited; and Prof. G. Shainesh, Conference Chair, IIM Bangalore. Sunil Bhaskaran described the GMAE program at IIMB as a very important piece in developing leadership in the sector as Bangalore is the hub of innovation and growth. “The impact of aviation on the Indian economy is large. Some of the best airports in the world are now in India. The aviation ecosystem is seeing tremendous growth with an order book of over 1700 aircraft. We need trained manpower, and at our academy, we train pilots and engineers not just for India but also for the developed world,” he said. The questions from the audience ranged from adoption of SAF in India, use of AI & ML in upskilling of pilots and engineers, and training for ground crew, especially those working on the tarmac, in aerospace safety.
Design & Manufacture in India for Global Markets
The second panel of the day, chaired by Dr. Srinivasan Dwarakanath, Director General, Aerospace India Association, featured Anuj Jhunjhunwala, CEO, JJG Aero; F.R. Singhvi, Joint Managing Director, Sansera Engineering Pvt. Ltd.; Kaushal Jadia, Senior Vice President & CTO, Cyient. “The growth in the global aviation sector is being driven by countries like India and China, and this has led to a growth in the aerospace sector, too. In 2023-24, India ordered the maximum number of aircraft in the world. There are many opportunities for expansion for companies working in manufacturing to move into design. But 95-98 per cent of the raw materials is imported. In the next 10 years, we must have our own (indigenous) raw material and develop our own passenger aircraft programs. We need a national aerospace road map for all this to happen,” said Dr Dwarakanath. Anuj spoke of the need for skilled manpower while Singhvi spoke of the need for India to do more in the areas of education, developing raw materials and building customer confidence to be on the global radar. On opportunities for manufacturing companies, Anuj said JJG Aero was moving up the value chain and getting local raw materials approved. “The big change is that, in the last two years, India is being looked at very seriously by the Airbus ecosystem,” he added. Kaushal said there is significant growth in commercial aviation despite the tariffs and logistics costs. “Skilling has improved, mainly through initiatives from industry, but we continue to struggle with supply chains,” he remarked. “With the current China-US relations, there is a huge opportunity for India as our biggest strength is the MSME sector,” Singhvi added. “Things are changing for the better as the fundamentals are in place, but the pace can increase by removing roadblocks like lack of a certification environment in India,” said Kaushal. “We should move from a mentality of being obedient followers, a colonial throwback, to become fearless innovators. There is still a huge fear of failure. Such a mindset should change, and companies should put in a part of their profits into R&D. Our research mind is still sleeping and forums like the FoAA conference should wake it up,” Singhvi remarked. “India now has its ‘Maruti’ moment in aerospace in the current geopolitical scenario. There is nothing embarrassing in being in the’ build to print’ space,” said Anuj.
On what should be done by industry, academia and government, the panel spoke of the need to strengthen the regulatory authority, the need for a better skilling and certification ecosystem, the need for a specific and comprehensive Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme for the sector, the need for low-cost infrastructure for MSMEs, and brand building through alignment in salaries of young mechanical engineers and collaboration with engineering colleges by setting up labs to address the shortage of skilled manpower in manufacturing in the aerospace sector.
Make in India: The Way Forward
The third panel, chaired by Dr. Kota Harinarayan, Former Programme Director and Chief Designer, Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft, featured Suresh Baroth, former IAF officer and CEO, DELOPT; Rajeev Kaul, MD & CEO, Aequs Pvt. Ltd.; and Sujaya Sashikiran, MD, Hical Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and discussed ways for the aerospace sector to move from ‘build to print’ to ‘build to spec’.
Dr. Harinarayan said in the next 15 years all aircraft of the Indian Air Force will be indigenous. “This is possible because we enjoy tremendous support from industry.” The challenge now, he said, is to scale, from defense to civil aviation.
Suresh Baroth spoke of the need to dream big and the support from big funding houses. “Passion is necessary but not sufficient; what you need is money to fund and scale that passion. What we also need are top quality courses in Design Thinking.”
Sujaya Sashikiran shared her journey as an entrepreneur in the eighties in India, and working with a PSU like Bharat Electronics. “We learnt documentation from the Germans, when we bagged an order from Siemens Matsushita at an expo where we had set up shop,” she recalled, adding that Hical Technologies got their fundamentals in quality from “very good companies”. Today, their clients include ISRO and DRDO. On challenges like sourcing design talent, she observed: “There are many young engineers, but they are just not industry ready.”
Rajeev Kaul, MD & CEO, Aequs Pvt. Ltd., spoke of his firm’s ‘build to print’ journey, starting 2006, and their objective to build in-country value. “We forged partnerships, and we encouraged OEMs to set up processing centers in India to grow the ‘build to print’ ecosystem,” he said, adding that the country needs to invest much more in R&D to reach the ‘build to spec’ stage.
EVtol and Drone: Regulations, Safety Rules & Mass Adoption
Chaired by Amber Dubey, Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company, the fourth expert panel of the day featured Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Founder, The ePlane Co.; Sarath Chandra Gudlavalleti, CEO – NeoSky Drones, Rattan India Enterprises Ltd.; Dr Rahul Singh, Co-Founder and Director, ICATT; and Divya Manchanda, Chief of Air Worthiness, The ePlane Co. “Young start-ups have had drone policy rewritten and 90 per cent of India is now green zoned. That is the power of a technology whose time has come,” Amber said. Prof. Chakravarthy spoke of the prototypes of unmanned air ambulances that his firm is working on, and the progress they have made on EVtols. Listing the challenges, he cited lack of safety rules around new technologies and regulatory hurdles. “While the DGCA has been extremely supportive, the regulations are in black and white and we have to live by them,” he added.
According to Sarath Chandra Gudlavalleti, the opportunity is not to do run-of-the-mill stuff. “Differentiation is the key,” he said, adding that drones flying give a lot of raw data, which can be harnessed, using AI and ML, for issues like fire detection, pothole detection, etc. “The big challenge is mass adoption because right now the biggest buyer is government,” he said.
On the need to nurture medical use of flying machines, Dr Rahul Singh highlighted how EVtols and drones can be life savers in case of critical medical emergencies. “India has nearly 800 districts, and having one EVtol in each district, manned by a medical team, can massively reduce death rates,” he said.
Divya Manchanda delved into the idea of building a medical ecosystem – deliveries of life-saving medicines to PHCs (primary health care centers) with small drones, use of large drones for organ transport, and patient evacuation with air ambulances, in hard-to-reach places across India.
Growing Talent
Prof. Christophe Benaroya, Head – MSc Program in Aerospace Management, TBS Education, was in conversation with Suraj Chettri, Vice President & Head of HR, Airbus, about the challenges around talent acquisition and retention, reskilling and upskilling, and employee engagement. “Typically, we learn from hindsight and a black swan event like COVID highlighted the faults of this learning model! We need people with foresight,” he remarked. “A CEO who accepts failure and encourages the team to fail fast and learn from their failure fosters a culture of innovation in the organization.”
In her recorded message, Prof. Cordula Barzantny, touched upon the shortage of talent in the sector and highlighted the relevance of programmes like the GMAE in addressing this gap.
AI & Analytics: The Enabler & Game Changer
The final panel of the day chaired by Prof. S. Raghunath, featured Uma Maheshwar, Chief Consulting Engineer, GE Aerospace, and Vishak Raman, Vice President – Sales, Fortinet. “This is an inflection point for the sector,” said Uma Maheshwar, explaining how AI has transformed the aerospace industry. Illustrating his point with examples of business outcomes of adopting AI, he spoke about its value in predictive maintenance, optimization of routes, etc. Along with adopting of AI, come cyber security risks, said Vishak Raman, suggesting ways of mitigating such risks through IT-OT integration.
Platform for Collaboration
Meaningful connections were forged, potential collaborations explored, and professional networks across global and domestic players enhanced at the conference. The delegates believe the annual conference serves as a vibrant platform to stay current with the latest research, policy developments, and best practices that are driving the future of aviation and aerospace.
Click here for photo gallery
Glimpses of the Event
International Conference on Future of Aviation and Aerospace draws top executives and spotlights opportunities for India
IIM Bangalore, in partnership with TBS Education, France, hosted the eighth edition of the premier conference which discussed market potential; design and manufacture in India for global markets; EVtol and Drone market; and the future of AI and analytics in the sector, and more
19 April, 2025, Bengaluru: With the mission to foster meaningful dialogue that shapes the strategic direction of a sector critical to global connectivity and national growth, IIM Bangalore, in partnership with TBS Education, France, hosted the 8th edition of the International Conference on Future of Aviation and Aerospace (FOAA), today. The summit, organized by IIM Bangalore’s Executive Education Programmes, brought together top executives in the sector, policy makers and researchers to deepen the understanding of the current and future state of the sector.
The initiative is part of a broader partnership between IIM Bangalore and TBS, whose highlight is a hugely popular Executive MBA programme called the General Management Executive Education (GMAE) Programme, designed specifically for executives in the aviation and aerospace industry.
This edition of the FoAA conference was marked by insightful keynote speakers and panels anchored by several C-suite executives from aviation and aerospace companies and professors of IIM Bangalore. They discussed the market potential for aviation and aerospace in India; design and manufacture; ‘Make in India’ and achievements of Indian companies; EVtol and Drone market; and the future of AI and analytics in aviation and aerospace.
Supported by the Aerospace India Association headed by Dr Srinivasan Dwarakanath, former MD & CEO of Airbus India, the conference featured six expert panels followed by a GMAE networking event.
‘Optimize Performance, Make Better Decisions’
In his inaugural address, Sabyasachi Srinivas, Vice President, Collins Aerospace, focused on digital transformation in the aviation industry and spoke of the manufacturing, R&D and testing capabilities being developed in India. “Close to 1000 patents have come out of Collins’ facilities in India,” he said. He sees a huge opportunity for the aviation ecosystem to show India’s prowess to the world leveraging digital enablers like Generative AI & ML, and Digital Twin technology.
Describing the FoAA conference as an important interface event held every year, Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, described Dr. Kota Harinaryana, former program director and chief designer of Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft, as his “guru” and reflected on the evolution of the aviation industry in India. He also spoke of Capt. G.R. Gopinath, who democratized air travel in India with Air Deccan. “Succeeding in aviation in India is not for the faint hearted. Technology has changed the entire sector, but we still have a long way to go, especially in enhancing passenger experience and streamlining supply chains. Design, engineering and manufacturing offer huge opportunity but there is a lot of work to be done in terms of developing human capital and ensuring their well-being,” he added.
Prof. G. Shainesh, Conference Chair, briefly touched upon the origin and growth of the FoAA conference, over the last eight years, and said it has grown into a platform that brings together the brightest minds in the sector.
Emphasizing the huge opportunity in the sector, Conference Chair Prof. S. Raghunath said, “India aims to capture 10% of the global aerospace supply chain market within the next decade, capitalizing on its expanding manufacturing capabilities and strategic partnerships. Major firms like Airbus, Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce are increasingly sourcing components from India to mitigate western supply chain disruptions. Indian firms are transitioning from basic manufacturing to high-value activities such as design and engineering.” He also spoke of the challenge relating to rising operational costs, including fuel prices and maintenance expenses, exerting financial pressure on airlines, necessitating strategic cost management. “Developing in-house MRO facilities or partnering with local certified providers can reduce reliance on foreign services, cutting costs by up to 30-40%,” he added.
Prof. Christophe Benaroya, Head – MSc Program in Aerospace Management, TBS Education, spoke of the fruitful 10-year association with IIM Bangalore with the GMAE programme, which has over 350 alumni in key roles in global aerospace firms and has led to several quality research papers and increased Indo-French cooperation.
Exploring Market Potential for Aviation
The first panel featured Sunil Bhaskaran, Director – Air India Aviation Academy, Air India Limited; and Prof. G. Shainesh, Conference Chair, IIM Bangalore. Sunil Bhaskaran described the GMAE program at IIMB as a very important piece in developing leadership in the sector as Bangalore is the hub of innovation and growth. “The impact of aviation on the Indian economy is large. Some of the best airports in the world are now in India. The aviation ecosystem is seeing tremendous growth with an order book of over 1700 aircraft. We need trained manpower, and at our academy, we train pilots and engineers not just for India but also for the developed world,” he said. The questions from the audience ranged from adoption of SAF in India, use of AI & ML in upskilling of pilots and engineers, and training for ground crew, especially those working on the tarmac, in aerospace safety.
Design & Manufacture in India for Global Markets
The second panel of the day, chaired by Dr. Srinivasan Dwarakanath, Director General, Aerospace India Association, featured Anuj Jhunjhunwala, CEO, JJG Aero; F.R. Singhvi, Joint Managing Director, Sansera Engineering Pvt. Ltd.; Kaushal Jadia, Senior Vice President & CTO, Cyient. “The growth in the global aviation sector is being driven by countries like India and China, and this has led to a growth in the aerospace sector, too. In 2023-24, India ordered the maximum number of aircraft in the world. There are many opportunities for expansion for companies working in manufacturing to move into design. But 95-98 per cent of the raw materials is imported. In the next 10 years, we must have our own (indigenous) raw material and develop our own passenger aircraft programs. We need a national aerospace road map for all this to happen,” said Dr Dwarakanath. Anuj spoke of the need for skilled manpower while Singhvi spoke of the need for India to do more in the areas of education, developing raw materials and building customer confidence to be on the global radar. On opportunities for manufacturing companies, Anuj said JJG Aero was moving up the value chain and getting local raw materials approved. “The big change is that, in the last two years, India is being looked at very seriously by the Airbus ecosystem,” he added. Kaushal said there is significant growth in commercial aviation despite the tariffs and logistics costs. “Skilling has improved, mainly through initiatives from industry, but we continue to struggle with supply chains,” he remarked. “With the current China-US relations, there is a huge opportunity for India as our biggest strength is the MSME sector,” Singhvi added. “Things are changing for the better as the fundamentals are in place, but the pace can increase by removing roadblocks like lack of a certification environment in India,” said Kaushal. “We should move from a mentality of being obedient followers, a colonial throwback, to become fearless innovators. There is still a huge fear of failure. Such a mindset should change, and companies should put in a part of their profits into R&D. Our research mind is still sleeping and forums like the FoAA conference should wake it up,” Singhvi remarked. “India now has its ‘Maruti’ moment in aerospace in the current geopolitical scenario. There is nothing embarrassing in being in the’ build to print’ space,” said Anuj.
On what should be done by industry, academia and government, the panel spoke of the need to strengthen the regulatory authority, the need for a better skilling and certification ecosystem, the need for a specific and comprehensive Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme for the sector, the need for low-cost infrastructure for MSMEs, and brand building through alignment in salaries of young mechanical engineers and collaboration with engineering colleges by setting up labs to address the shortage of skilled manpower in manufacturing in the aerospace sector.
Make in India: The Way Forward
The third panel, chaired by Dr. Kota Harinarayan, Former Programme Director and Chief Designer, Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft, featured Suresh Baroth, former IAF officer and CEO, DELOPT; Rajeev Kaul, MD & CEO, Aequs Pvt. Ltd.; and Sujaya Sashikiran, MD, Hical Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and discussed ways for the aerospace sector to move from ‘build to print’ to ‘build to spec’.
Dr. Harinarayan said in the next 15 years all aircraft of the Indian Air Force will be indigenous. “This is possible because we enjoy tremendous support from industry.” The challenge now, he said, is to scale, from defense to civil aviation.
Suresh Baroth spoke of the need to dream big and the support from big funding houses. “Passion is necessary but not sufficient; what you need is money to fund and scale that passion. What we also need are top quality courses in Design Thinking.”
Sujaya Sashikiran shared her journey as an entrepreneur in the eighties in India, and working with a PSU like Bharat Electronics. “We learnt documentation from the Germans, when we bagged an order from Siemens Matsushita at an expo where we had set up shop,” she recalled, adding that Hical Technologies got their fundamentals in quality from “very good companies”. Today, their clients include ISRO and DRDO. On challenges like sourcing design talent, she observed: “There are many young engineers, but they are just not industry ready.”
Rajeev Kaul, MD & CEO, Aequs Pvt. Ltd., spoke of his firm’s ‘build to print’ journey, starting 2006, and their objective to build in-country value. “We forged partnerships, and we encouraged OEMs to set up processing centers in India to grow the ‘build to print’ ecosystem,” he said, adding that the country needs to invest much more in R&D to reach the ‘build to spec’ stage.
EVtol and Drone: Regulations, Safety Rules & Mass Adoption
Chaired by Amber Dubey, Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company, the fourth expert panel of the day featured Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Founder, The ePlane Co.; Sarath Chandra Gudlavalleti, CEO – NeoSky Drones, Rattan India Enterprises Ltd.; Dr Rahul Singh, Co-Founder and Director, ICATT; and Divya Manchanda, Chief of Air Worthiness, The ePlane Co. “Young start-ups have had drone policy rewritten and 90 per cent of India is now green zoned. That is the power of a technology whose time has come,” Amber said. Prof. Chakravarthy spoke of the prototypes of unmanned air ambulances that his firm is working on, and the progress they have made on EVtols. Listing the challenges, he cited lack of safety rules around new technologies and regulatory hurdles. “While the DGCA has been extremely supportive, the regulations are in black and white and we have to live by them,” he added.
According to Sarath Chandra Gudlavalleti, the opportunity is not to do run-of-the-mill stuff. “Differentiation is the key,” he said, adding that drones flying give a lot of raw data, which can be harnessed, using AI and ML, for issues like fire detection, pothole detection, etc. “The big challenge is mass adoption because right now the biggest buyer is government,” he said.
On the need to nurture medical use of flying machines, Dr Rahul Singh highlighted how EVtols and drones can be life savers in case of critical medical emergencies. “India has nearly 800 districts, and having one EVtol in each district, manned by a medical team, can massively reduce death rates,” he said.
Divya Manchanda delved into the idea of building a medical ecosystem – deliveries of life-saving medicines to PHCs (primary health care centers) with small drones, use of large drones for organ transport, and patient evacuation with air ambulances, in hard-to-reach places across India.
Growing Talent
Prof. Christophe Benaroya, Head – MSc Program in Aerospace Management, TBS Education, was in conversation with Suraj Chettri, Vice President & Head of HR, Airbus, about the challenges around talent acquisition and retention, reskilling and upskilling, and employee engagement. “Typically, we learn from hindsight and a black swan event like COVID highlighted the faults of this learning model! We need people with foresight,” he remarked. “A CEO who accepts failure and encourages the team to fail fast and learn from their failure fosters a culture of innovation in the organization.”
In her recorded message, Prof. Cordula Barzantny, touched upon the shortage of talent in the sector and highlighted the relevance of programmes like the GMAE in addressing this gap.
AI & Analytics: The Enabler & Game Changer
The final panel of the day chaired by Prof. S. Raghunath, featured Uma Maheshwar, Chief Consulting Engineer, GE Aerospace, and Vishak Raman, Vice President – Sales, Fortinet. “This is an inflection point for the sector,” said Uma Maheshwar, explaining how AI has transformed the aerospace industry. Illustrating his point with examples of business outcomes of adopting AI, he spoke about its value in predictive maintenance, optimization of routes, etc. Along with adopting of AI, come cyber security risks, said Vishak Raman, suggesting ways of mitigating such risks through IT-OT integration.
Platform for Collaboration
Meaningful connections were forged, potential collaborations explored, and professional networks across global and domestic players enhanced at the conference. The delegates believe the annual conference serves as a vibrant platform to stay current with the latest research, policy developments, and best practices that are driving the future of aviation and aerospace.
Click here for photo gallery
Glimpses of the Event