GE Aerospace to nearly double supplier spending in India by 2030

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) has announced that it will almost double its spending on domestic suppliers in India between 2025 and 2030, to support rising air travel demand and its leading position in the aviation industry.

The announcement came with the release of a new Ernst & Young (EY) report, "Powering Progress: GE Aerospace Economic Impact in India". The report was presented at "India Taking Flight - Aviation, Innovation and the Road to Viksit Bharat 2047", a gathering of industry leaders hosted by GE Aerospace. It is the first comprehensive assessment of GE Aerospace's four-decade impact in India across commercial aviation, defence, manufacturing and engineering.

According to the report, India's domestic commercial airlines earned about $19 billion in revenue in financial year 2026. Through advanced engine technology and a high standard of reliability and operational performance, GE Aerospace helps provide the connectivity and efficiency needed by the aviation ecosystem, which supports about 370,000 direct jobs.

The report says that as of December 2025, commercial engines built by GE Aerospace and the company's partners*, with a fleet of more than 1,400 engines, power the operations of most of India's commercial airlines. These engines helped Indian airlines record the world's highest passenger load factor of 88.2 per cent and aircraft utilisation of 12 to 14 hours a day, well ahead of global figures.

Vikram Rai, CEO of GE Aerospace for South Asia, said, "India's commercial aviation growth is among the fastest in the world, and today's report shows that our commitment here is not limited to selling engines." He said, "This commitment lives in the parts machined in Pune, in the innovation in Bengaluru and in our trusted customers who are shaping the next generation of India's aerospace industry. As India moves towards its 'Viksit Bharat' ambitions, doubling our spending for the growth of the supply chain ecosystem will help meet the rising demand."

According to Government of India estimates, annual domestic passenger traffic is expected to rise from 340 million in financial year 2026 to 1.1 billion by 2040. The number of airports is to grow from 163 to more than 350 by 2047. To meet this demand, India and South Asia will need 3,300 additional aircraft, or 6,600 additional engines, by 2044.

In July 2026, IndiGo announced a memorandum of understanding with CFM International for more than 1,000 LEAP-1A engines to power 510 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. It is the largest single order for LEAP engines and a record for CFM International. It also includes support for building IndiGo's upcoming engine MRO facility. Of the roughly 1,500 new aircraft already ordered by Indian airlines, most are expected to be powered by engines from GE Aerospace and its partners. According to the report, the opportunity for India's maintenance, repair and overhaul industry is worth more than $5.5 billion.

GE Aerospace's main plant in Pune was built with an initial investment of $200 million. Since 2024, the company has invested about $55 million to increase automation, expand precision manufacturing capability and develop manpower. The investment has strengthened the company's manufacturing capability in India. It is supported by 17 major domestic partners, including small and medium enterprises, and the wider supplier network of the Pune project.

In 2025, GE Aerospace spent about $200 million on this domestic supply chain. The company plans to double this investment by 2030 to meet growing demand. Since 2015, about 5,000 production associates have graduated from the Pune plant's apprenticeship programme, and 400 to 500 new apprentices are recruited every year. Engineering talent development programmes and academic research partnerships are under way in Bengaluru, including a major joint innovation project with IIT Madras that is developing a micro turbomachine designed and built locally.

In defence, since 1986 the company has worked with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on LM2500 naval engines and on the F404-IN20 engines that power India's Tejas Mk1 light combat aircraft. More than 4,000 engines of this platform are in service in 16 countries. Subject to final agreements and approvals, a 2023 memorandum of understanding covers the potential domestic production of F414 engines for the Tejas Mk2 programme. GE Aerospace has signed a five-year performance-based logistics agreement with the Indian Air Force for Apache helicopter engines, and a separate agreement to build a depot facility in the country for F404-IN20 engines.

The Bengaluru Technology Centre was set up in 2000 with an investment of $200 million and was the first such research and engineering centre outside the United States. Since then it has secured more than 1,000 aviation patents and made a key contribution to the design, development and certification of the GE9X, the world's most powerful jet engine. Engineers there are responsible for key design work on the GE90, GP7200, GEnx and GE9X engines. They also play a key role in the CFM RISE** programme, which aims to improve fuel efficiency by 20 per cent while meeting customer expectations on durability. The centre's digital technology team uses artificial intelligence (AI) to support GE Aerospace's global supply chain, MRO and sales operations.