Will India's aircraft workshops gain from the EU trade treaty?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India hopes to leverage its tariff concessions to the European Union (EU) to press for mutual recognition of aircraft maintenance certification, an official familiar with the plan said. The aviation ministry will nudge the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to accept certifications issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), especially for Indian maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), the official cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

This would align India's aviation safety standards with the EU's, and make EASA certification process easy. A positive response from EU will allow India's MRO facilities to supply parts to European-made planes and service them in India, a lucrative upgrade from their primary work of routine checks and quick repairs at airport gates. The move will also help the country save on valuable foreign exchange outflows.

India currently has around 149 DGCA-certified MROs, but only about 10 of them have EASA certification or reciprocal approvals from the European regulator. While DGCA certifies an MRO as a whole, EU certifications are offering-specific, meaning every facility, engine type and nature of service has to be separately certified. “So, we offer this as a bouquet offering of sorts.

We are bringing down duties on certain products for EU, and as a reciprocal gesture, they take up our cause and harmonize standards, so that certification of Indian MROs happen. This is like a bargaining chip we are using," the official said. The aviation ministry has been discussing the proposal with the department of commerce as part of the broader FTA framework, the official said.