India's Tata group and Airbus from France have entered into an agreement to manufacture civilian helicopters in India, featuring a substantial indigenous and localization component, as announced by India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra. The signing of this agreement occurred during the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India.

Vinay Kwatra, during a media briefing, revealed key outcomes from discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Macron in Jaipur. He highlighted the establishment of a defense industrial partnership roadmap between India and France. This strategic roadmap aims to foster co-development and co-production of essential military hardware and platforms, facilitating technology collaboration across various domains, including space, land warfare, cyberspace, and artificial intelligence.

Furthermore, Kwatra emphasized that the defense industrial roadmap would extend cooperation into areas such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and cyber defense. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between New Space India Ltd and Arianespace from France for collaboration in satellite launches was also disclosed during the briefing.

In addition to the defense and aerospace collaboration, the leaders, Modi and Macron, discussed the conflict in Gaza, covering aspects like terrorism and humanitarian concerns. They exchanged perspectives on the evolving security situation in the Red Sea, addressing potential disruptions and actual developments.

The agreement between Tata and Airbus signifies a significant step toward bolstering India's capabilities in the aerospace sector, aligning with the broader defense industrial partnership between the two countries. The localization component underscores the emphasis on leveraging indigenous resources and expertise for the manufacturing process, contributing to India's self-reliance in the defense and aerospace domains