Prime Minister Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday greeted people during a roadshow in Vadodara.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in India on Sunday evening. On Monday, he took a road show of around 3.45 km from Vadodara airport to Tata factory with PM Modi. After this, the two leaders inaugurated the Tata Airbus assembly unit for manufacturing the C-295 aircraft.
The C-295 program has a total of 56 aircraft, 16 of which are delivered by Airbus directly from Spain. The other 40 will be built in India. Tata Advanced Systems Limited will manufacture these 40 aircraft in India. Spain will help with manufacturing, training and logistics.
This is Prime Minister Sánchez’s first visit to India. His wife Begona Gomez also came to India. This is the visit of any Spanish Prime Minister to India after 18 years. Earlier in July 2006, Jose Luis, the then Prime Minister of Spain, had visited India.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will also meet Prime Minister Sanchez in Vadodara. During this period, bilateral talks will also take place between the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez inaugurated the Airbus Assembly in Vadodara.
Prime Minister Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez are holding a roadshow in Vadodara.
Spanish President Pedro Sanchez arrived in Vadodara, Gujarat, on Sunday evening. His plane landed at the Vadodara airport around 1:30 am. Here he was greeted with drums and drums.
Lunch will take place at the Royal Palace in Vadodara. After inaugurating the aeronautical facility, PM Modi and PM Sanchez will reach the Lakshmi Vilas Royal Palace in Vadodara. Here, the two leaders will have lunch in the Eugénie room (elite). Gujarati, Punjabi and Spanish dishes will be served on bronze plates amidst the strains of classical music from the palace.
There will also be cultural programs on their route on their way to Lakshmi Vilas Palace. 15 platforms have been created for this purpose. The world famous Dandiya of Gujarat, tribal dance, Lavani musical dance of Maharashtra, Kalbelia of Rajasthan, Kuchipudi of Kerala etc. will be performed on these stages.
On reaching the Palace, there will be a meeting between the two leaders in the Durbar Hall.
Sanchez to address Spain-India Forum in Mumbai
Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez will visit Mumbai after Vadodara. Here he will interact with prominent business and industry leaders, think tanks and film industry players. During this time, he will visit the film studio.
In addition, Prime Minister Sánchez will participate in the fourth Spain-India Forum of the Spain-India Council Foundation and the Observer Research Foundation. Where he will also address the forum.
With the C-295 aircraft deal concluded for Rs 22,000 crore, PM Modi had laid the foundation for the Final Assembly Line (FAL) plant of C-295 aircraft in October 2022. For this , the Indian government had signed an agreement with Spain’s Airbus Defense and Space in September 2021 for 56 C-295 aircraft for Rs 21,935 crore.
According to this, there was an agreement between Tata Advance Limited and Airbus to manufacture 40 of the 56 aircraft. The remaining 16 planes are expected to arrive in India from Spain ready to fly. The deadline for this has been set for August 2025. As part of this, the first aircraft has already arrived in India in September 2023.
Before the inauguration, factory officials said that the first C-295 aircraft in India would be ready by September 2026. The remaining 39 aircraft will be ready by 2031. These are being made under the Make in India project.
Characteristics of the C-295 aircraft
These aircraft can perform short takeoffs and landings. According to the company, this plane can only take off at a distance of 320 meters. At the same time, a length of 670 meters is sufficient for landing. This means that this aircraft will prove useful in operations in hilly regions like Ladakh, Kashmir, Assam and Sikkim. The aircraft can carry a payload of 7,050 kg. It can transport 71 soldiers, 44 paratroopers, 24 stretchers or 5 pallets of cargo at a time. Can fly continuously for 11 hours. The 2-person crew cabin also has an intelligent control system with touchscreen controls. The C-295MW transport aircraft features a rear ramp door, allowing for rapid loading and dropping of troops or cargo. The aircraft is equipped with 2 Pratt & Whitney PW127 turboprop engines. . The engines are engaged. All of these aircraft will be equipped with locally built electronic warfare suites.