New Delhi, July 2 (IANS). Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met Sebastien Bougon, Chairman of French aerospace logistics company Flying Whales, in Paris to discuss the company’s plans to set up a manufacturing ecosystem in India. The Finance Ministry shared this information on social media X on Thursday.
The ministry said that during the meeting, Sebastien Bougon informed the Finance Minister about the sustainable Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects that Flying Whales operates around the world. He said that the company’s technology helps in economic development of remote and landlocked areas and also reduces the impact on the environment during freight transportation.
He also informed that Flying Whales wants to establish its entire manufacturing ecosystem in India and is planning to develop India as a major center in this direction.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman welcomed the company’s desire to invest in India. He said there are vast opportunities for companies like Flying Whales in India and encouraged the company to engage with the country’s fast-growing startup ecosystem.
He also highlighted the International Financial Services Center Authority (IFSCA) based in GIFT City, Gujarat and the regulatory framework related to ship and aircraft leasing and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) that Flying Whales can avail.
It is noteworthy that Flying Whales and India’s BLP Group had announced the first phase of strategic partnership on April 2 this year, which aims to create a strong manufacturing ecosystem for the manufacturing of heavy cargo airships in India, thereby making India the global hub of this new transportation technology. This announcement was made during the summit between French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two companies had also introduced plans to assemble the LCA60T airship in India for the Asia and Middle-East markets.
Approximately 200 meters long and powered by helium gas, the LCA60T is a state-of-the-art cargo airship, capable of carrying up to 60 tons of cargo at a time. The company’s business model is not limited to just manufacturing airships, but also operates them as an airline service to transport heavy goods to remote areas where runways, roads or other infrastructure are not available.
This technology can be used to transport heavy objects like wind turbine blades, power transmission towers, aerospace equipment to remote locations for wind energy projects. Apart from this, it can also prove to be very useful in supplying relief material, medical equipment and military material during natural disasters.
Apart from this, the Finance Ministry informed on social media platform X that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also met Yan Gerardin, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BNP Paribas Group and Executive Chairman of Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) in Paris.
During the meeting, Gerardin said that India is fast emerging as a reliable investment destination among global investors. He also praised India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).
The Finance Minister told him that keeping in mind the goal of ‘Developed India 2047’, the government has announced to set up a committee for reforms related to the banking sector.
He also sought suggestions from Gerardin for the committee and said that India is working towards strengthening its banking sector at the global level, in which special importance is being given to Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Account Aggregator System.
–IANS
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