India has emerged as a central pillar in Rolls-Royce's long-term global growth strategy, with the British engineering group seeking to deepen its contribution to the country's energy security, infrastructure expansion, national security and connectivity.

The company underlined India’s rising strategic importance during a landmark three-day visit that included the first-ever Rolls-Royce Board meeting held in the country. The visit reflected the firm's intent to strengthen partnerships and expand capabilities across multiple sectors.

Chief Executive Officer Tufan Erginbilgic met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss Rolls-Royce's long-term plans in India and opportunities to support national priorities in aerospace, defence and energy. The discussions focused on building deeper industrial partnerships and supporting India's broader economic development objectives.

According to Erginbilgic, Rolls-Royce aims to play a larger role in supporting India's growth by contributing to energy resilience, infrastructure development, national security and improved connectivity. The company sees significant scope to create long-term value through technology, capability-building and strategic collaboration.

A major element of this ambition is the recently announced strategic intent between Rolls-Royce and Reliance Industries to collaborate on the design, development, manufacture and delivery of an indigenous combat engine for India's Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program.

Under the proposal, a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex (AGTC) would be established in India, with the AMCA engine initiative serving as the anchor project. The facility is envisaged as a fully sovereign aero-engine ecosystem covering design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and lifetime support.

Beyond supporting the AMCA effort, the AGTC could help create enduring national capabilities for future military, naval and civil aerospace applications, strengthening India's self-reliance objectives in advanced propulsion technologies.

During the visit, Chair Dame Anita Frew and members of the Board engaged with the company's India leadership and government stakeholders. They also visited the Rolls-Royce Global Capability and Innovation Centre in Bangalore, where teams showcased expertise across engineering, defence, digital technologies, information technology and global business services.

Rolls-Royce stated that its future growth plans in India build on decades of operations in the country, established industrial partnerships, an expanding engineering presence, and a growing manufacturing and supply-chain ecosystem.

Beyond combat aerospace, the company already maintains a significant footprint in India through its civil aviation, defence and power systems businesses. It is actively exploring opportunities aligned with India's Viksit Bharat vision, particularly in defence self-reliance, energy security, industrial development, infrastructure expansion and the continued growth of the country's rapidly expanding civil aviation sector.

PTI