By R. Anil Kumar
Bengaluru, January 19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing’s largest investment facility outside the USA in Bengaluru on January 19.
The Boeing India Engineering and Technology Centre (BIETC), built with an investment of Rs 1,600 crore, is spread across a 43-acre campus.
The campus at Hightech Defence and Aerospace Park in Devanahalli on the city outskirts will become a cornerstone for partnerships with the vibrant startups, private and government ecosystem in India, and will help develop next-generation products and services for the global aerospace and defence industry.
Here’s all you need to know about the state-of-the-art facility that is set to open doors to Indian talent, with a special focus on providing opportunities for girls and women in the fields of science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
About BIETC
BIETC is Boeing’s new campus in India. According to the government’s press release, it “aims to be a cornerstone for partnership with the vibrant startup, private and government ecosystem in the country.”
The facility will look to develop next-generation products and services for the global aerospace and defence industry. The Prime Minister also launched the Boeing Sukanya Programme, which aims to support the entry of more women from across India into the aviation sector.
What the Sukanya programme aims to achieve
The programme will provide opportunities for girls and women to learn critical skills in STEM fields and train for jobs in the aviation sector. For young girls, the program will create STEM Labs at 150 planned locations to help spark an interest in STEM careers. The program will also provide scholarships to women training to be pilots.
BIETC is meant to be a 3,000+ diverse engineering workforce that contributes to global aerospace growth. According to Boeing, its engineers are engaging in research and development, are involved in global markets, and leveraging new-age technologies such as Artificial Intelligence,Machine Learning, Industrial Internet of Things, Cloud, Model-Based Engineering, and Additive Manufacturing.
Boeing will also partner with the Indian armed forces to boost the aircraft demand in the defence sector and contribute to “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.
What Benefits that Indian engineers and technicians can derive?
Boeing has announced 107 job openings in different cities in India, out of which 97 are in Bengaluru. In Bengaluru, BIETC is set to hire talent across domains, including software engineers, billing analysts, structural analysis engineers, product review engineers, associate systems engineers, programme analysts, and digital electronics architects, among others.
Recently, Boeing India also invited applications for the Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program for 2023-24 from university students and early-stage startups in India.
In its third edition now, the programme encourages young entrepreneurial minds to incubate innovative ideas and create new market opportunities and global trends across industry verticals.
Further, the company also continues to partner with seven incubators, namely, Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship – IIT Mumbai, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer – IIT Delhi, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center – IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, Society for Innovation and Development – IISC Bengaluru, T-Hub Hyderabad, and Technology Business Incubator – KIIT Bhubaneshwar, to organise BUILD in India.
How Boeing’s Indian market would look like?
According to Boeing India, the company is focused on delivering value to Indian customers with advanced technologies and is committed to creating sustainable value in the Indian aerospace sector.
Boeing has strengthened its supply chain with more than 300 local companies in India and a joint venture to manufacture fuselages for Apache helicopters and vertical fin structures for the 737 family of aircraft. Its annual sourcing from India stands at approximately $1 billion. Boeing currently employs more than 6,000 people in India, and more than 13,000 people work with its supply chain partners.
