“The availability of talent, and the availability of capacity are the key advantages of Indian aerospace industry,” says, Mr. Venkatesh Mudragalla, Co-founder & COO, Jeh Aerospace.
-Neha Basudkar Ghate
Q: What are the main challenges you see in aerospace manufacturing compared to automotive?
I think one of the biggest differences we see is in tolerances. In aerospace manufacturing, tolerances are extremely tight when compared to automotive. If you look at automotive parts, tolerances are generally in the tens of millimetres, whereas in aerospace they are in microns. Achieving those tolerances – and more importantly, maintaining that level of repeatability – is the most critical challenge.
We do have suppliers in the ecosystem that can produce precision parts on a one‑off basis, but ensuring that repeatability continuously and consistently is where the real difficulty lies. So, I would say that’s the biggest challenge we are facing now. It’s not about the demand – demand is very much there in the industry. The real question is our ability to execute at that level and deliver consistently to the global market.
Q: How do you see the talent situation in aerospace, and what steps are you taking to address the gap?
I think there are two parts to this. One, we definitely have raw talent available in the country. But is that talent industry‑ready? The answer is no. So, the challenge is in finding ways to bridge the talent gap between what industry needs and what academia is currently providing.
At Jeh Aerospace, we are addressing this in two ways. First, we partner with academia. We go in early during campus recruitment, and we actually give the students our own curriculum for the last six months of their course. They go through that, which prepares them better for what we need.
Second, we’ve set up an in‑house training centre called the Centre of Aerospace Skill in our Hyderabad facility. When new employees join, they go through a structured thirty‑six‑day training programme conducted by our own experts before they are deployed onto the shop floor. The programme combines classroom sessions, on‑the‑job exposure, and practical training within the factory itself.
Q: How do you see new manufacturing techniques like additive manufacturing impacting aerospace?
While I wouldn’t specifically emphasise the materials, I would place more focus on the manufacturing techniques that are coming in. One such technique is additive manufacturing. What it does is help cut down new product introduction (NPI) cycle times, reduce the overall part count, and it becomes very cost‑efficient when you need to produce a one‑off component.
Now, is additive manufacturing really durable and robust enough for aerospace? The way I see it, conventional machining and additive need to coexist. Additive manufacturing has its own pockets of application where it is very effective. For example, it’s not great when you need high‑volume production with multiple quantities – conventional methods are still better there. But additive becomes extremely useful when you need to make a prototype, a one‑off, or when you’re dealing with very complex geometries.
In fact, one big advantage is that with additive, designers are no longer restricted by manufacturability constraints. In traditional manufacturing, designers have to consider whether a part can be produced. With additive techniques, you can design far more efficiently, because those constraints are removed. And that’s where additive manufacturing adds real value to aerospace.
For me, the game is about talent. If you are able to manage your talent well and nurture it properly, you have a winner on your hands.
Q: How do you see the current state of the Indian aerospace industry, and what needs to be done to strengthen it?
One thing is clear, the Indian aerospace industry is still very nascent. We are only around 10–15 years old in the private sector. Earlier, all the work that was done in aerospace was limited to the public sector units. Private sector companies really started entering the space only in the late 2000s, so in effect we just have about 15–20 years behind us. On the other hand, we are competing with the rest of the world who come with several decades of experience. So yes, we do start with that disadvantage.
However, having said that, there are some natural advantages in India – the availability of talent, and the availability of capacity. Plus, if you look at it globally, many Western economies that have traditionally been manufacturing hubs are facing their own challenges now, and that opens up opportunities for India.
But what do we need to do? First, we must manage our talent well. Second, we need to nurture digital adoption. While aerospace is inherently a very technically advanced industry, when it comes to digital adoption, India still lags behind. Back at Jeh Aerospace, we have made this shift that we are a digitally native company. We don’t use paper in our factory at all – everything, right from the receipt of an order to the final delivery, happens digitally. That is the kind of transformation the industry needs if we want to bridge the gap and compete globally.
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