Modi hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in New Delhi and the two leaders agreed to elevate India’s bilateral relations with the Southwestern European nation to a “strategic partnership”. They witnessed the signing of a “Declaration of Intent on Migration and Mobility”. This would be turned into a bilateral agreement later to counter irregular migration and trafficking of human beings, to examine pathways to facilitate labour mobility and to promote fair working conditions, with the aim of addressing the needs of the respective economies, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting between the two leaders.

 “The ongoing talks between the two countries on the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement are of special importance. The early conclusion of this agreement will further strengthen our people-to-people relations,” Modi said after his meeting with Meloni.

Modi and Meloni decided that the armed forces of the two nations would regularly hold joint exercises and training courses.

“There is another area where the two countries are starting a new chapter, and that is defence cooperation. Opportunities are being created for co-production and co-development in the defence manufacturing sector in India, which can be beneficial for both countries.

The Government of India had blacklisted M/s Finmeccanica, Italy and its subsidiary M/s AgustaWestland, the UK, in 2014 after they had been accused of paying bribes to secure a $ 48 million contract from the Government of India for supplying 12 helicopters for ferrying the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister and the other VVIPs.

The scam had been probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Ministry of Defence, however, in 2021 notified a new list of the companies barred from doing business with it – dropping Italy’s AgustaWestland International Limited and its parent company Leonardo SpA, which was earlier known as Finmeccanica.

Finmeccanica rebranded itself as Leonardo SpA on January 1, 2017.

The AgustaWestland ceased to exist after it merged with the Leonardo SpA and turned into the helicopter division of the company.

Modi and Meloni on Thursday welcomed the steady deepening of defence cooperation between the two countries in the last two years, underscoring the need to further enhance mutual engagement in this field through the conclusion of an MoU on Defence Cooperation. They agreed on the potential for defence equipment co-development and co-production in India. New Delhi extended an invitation to the defence companies of Italy to actively participate in the “Make-in-India” programme.

Meloni noted that Italy-India bilateral trade had doubled to reach Euro 15 billion in two years. “But we are both convinced that more can be done”, she said joining Modi while making a media statement after the meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

Italy joined India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) under the Science, Technology and Academics cooperation pillar. The two leaders announced the launch of the India-Italy Start-Up Bridge.

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The government will keep 51% equity with an Indian company, while asking the foreign partner to do technology transfer, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are at an early stage. The jets, which typically seat less than 100 people, are likely to be produced in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, they said.

The world’s fastest-growing aviation market is trying to ramp up its small-plane fleet as airports with limited capacity and short runways are not equipped to handle narrow-body planes of Airbus SE and Boeing Co. that dominate the Indian skies. This will help the government bolster tourism and facilitate faster access to remote areas in the South Asian giant of 1.4 billion, which recently has been seen to surpass China in population.

India mandates airlines operate at least 10% of their capacity on remote routes, including Kashmir and the Northeast bordering China, which means smaller planes could be more efficient for airlines as they can fill a larger share of total seats.

Airbus SE estimates India will need 2,210 aircrafts by 2040 and 80% of them will be smaller jets. The country has piqued global turboprop makers’ interest, with De Havilland Aircraft planning to seize 80% of its market for smaller planes of less than 20 passengers.

Regional Workhorse

India has completed preliminary discussions with Embraer, while Sukhoi has expressed interest in manufacturing regional jets locally, the people said. In addition, the country has also approached ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo SpA of Italy, to make in India, they added.

Embraer said India has “significant opportunities” for regional jets and the manufacturer “continuously looks for ways to collaborate with India to find win-win solutions”. Representatives for Sukhoi, ATR and the aviation ministry didn’t respond to emails seeking comments.

ATR small planes are the workhorse of regional routes in India with the nation’s top carrier, IndiGo, operating 39 of them. Rival De Havilland’s Dash-8 Q400 turboprops, which seat between 78 and 90 people, are operated by SpiceJet Ltd. State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. is already manufacturing the 19-seater Dornier 228 aircraft used by the armed forces and Alliance Air.

The plan is vital to Modi’s push to promote manufacturing and boost economic productivity while creating jobs. The government is strengthening last-mile connectivity by giving subsidies to airlines to make air travel more economical. As part of a regional connectivity program, India has allocated 45 billion rupees ($545 million) to develop 100 inadequately-served airports, heliports and water aerodromes, besides opening 1,000 new routes by next year.

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