Safran plans to expand in India

New Delhi: India is among the three countries where Safran Group, the international high-technology company, would like to increase its global footprint, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Jean-Paul Herteman, said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Herteman said that the company aimed to be among the leading partner for the aerospace, Defence and security sectors here. The company was bidding to be the foreign partner for the co-development and co-production of the light combat aircraft Tejas Kaveri engine, he added.

“The modern engine will be truly co-developed with Indian research organisation and industry partners. There would be full transfer of technology,” Mr Herteman said. The company also planned to set up an engine maintenance and repair centre in the country, he added.

Meanwhile, the company inaugurated a new factory on the outskirts of the Capital for producing SIM cards for the domestic and Asian market. The factory has the capacity to produce 100 million cards which would be enhanced to 300 million by the end of next year, Mr Herteman said and added that the company currently had a market share of around 45 per cent in the domestic SIM card market.