Airline and MRO leaders gather at Aviation India Summit & Exhibition 2025 to debate India's drive to MRO self-sufficiency

India's leading airline and MRO industry figures will debate the key challenges ahead for a country determined to deliver a home-grown and world-class MRO capability at the 2nd Aviation India & South Asia Summit & Exhibition 2025 taking place in New Delhi on 29-30th October 2025.

In a panel titled: Super-charging MRO capability and capacity in India, Sisira Dash, Chief Technical Officer, Air India, and Parichay Datta, SVP Engineering & Maintenance, IndiGo, will outline the ambitions of the country's leading carriers to the Summit.

"Both carriers are investing strongly in building up their MRO capacity and capability and we are looking forward to hearing their story first-hand as they drive to greater self-dependence," said Mark Pilling, Programme Director of Aviation India Summit 2025 and moderator of the MRO panel.

Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Director General of Civil Aviation, Government of India, Ashok Gopinath, President, GMR Aero Technic, and CS Tomar, President, MRO Association of India, will join the airline chiefs to discuss the transformative steps necessary to build up India's MRO industry.

"There are so many topics to cover, such as the consolidation and M&A activity among India's MRO players; how the regulatory environment and taxation policy will evolve; the acquisition of talent and skilled engineers; and whether India can become a global MRO hub serving not just Indian carriers but also international ones?" said Pilling.

Under the event headline: "Shaping the pathway for Indian aviation", the Summit promises to be one of the most significant gatherings of the commercial air transport community and ecosystem this year in India and builds upon the success of the launch summit in 2024 which attracted 582 delegates. It is expected the 2025 edition will attract over 800 delegates and some 50 exhibitors.

Among the senior names from India's aviation industry taking part in the Summit are Campbell Wilson, Pieter Elbers, Vinay Dube, Salil Gupte, Shri Vipin Kumar, Videh Kumar Jaipuriar and Hari Marar.

Aviation India Summit 2025 builds on the formula of the successful Times Aerospace Aviation Africa events, which began in Dubai in 2015 and have been held in Rwanda, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa.