India has opportunity to create most innovative products of next generation: Boeing India President

India has a tremendous opportunity to merge its engineering capabilities with great quality to create the most innovative products of the next generation, Boeing India President Salil Gupte said on Tuesday.

The country's companies must also look at moving up the ladder in value in the global supply chain and cash in on opportunities, he said while speaking at a symposium organised by India Foundation for Quality Management.

"Whether you're talking about the auto sector, whether you're talking about industrial engineered systems, whether you're talking about defence, we have a tremendous opportunity in India," Gupte said.

Elaborating further, he said India has always had, over the last 30-50 years, strong engineering and design capabilities.

"Now, with this quality push in India, especially over the last 10 years, you've seen manufacturing transform. And from that transformation comes the opportunity for India to merge that great engineering with that great quality to create the most innovative products of the next generation," he asserted.

Citing the example of Boeing, he said, "The supply chain in India largely outperforms the supply chain globally in terms of quality by a very wide margin, it is truly a tremendous performance, absolutely".

Asking Indian suppliers, especially in aerospace, to move up the value chain, Gupte said, "...think about going from aerostructures, sheet metal type parts, simple assemblies, maybe even complex assemblies.....into avionic systems. Think about going into engine manufacturing. This is where the value is in that supply chain".

India can and must become a part of that global supply chain, he said, adding that "because we diversify supply chains around the world, now is the opportunity we cannot afford to miss".

Reflecting on Boeing's journey in India, Gupte said, "It has been quite successful over the last five years in India....We've gone from 1,500 employees to 7000".

On sourcing, he said, "Our supply chain has gone up from hundreds of cores (rupees), maybe a few thousand cores up to (Rs) 10,000 cores every year".