As the pandemic is almost in the rearview mirror, the Indian manufacturing industry is ready to bounce back. The Make in India initiative is expected to continue accelerating industry growth, especially on the export side of things. The wind is favorable too. In FY 21–22, exports bounced to Rs.31.46 lakh crore (Rs.21.60 lakh crore in FY 20–21), registering a YOY growth of 45.72 percent, which is a historical and probably the highest in recent decades in terms of value and growth percentage. We owe a lot to leaders in the manufacturing sector who drive this growth in exceptional synch with the government. Shining among a handful of such leaders who give life to the Make in India campaign is Kishore Jayaraman OBE, President, India & South Asia, Rolls-Royce. Since assuming office over a decade ago, Kishore has been instrumental in driving strategic focus and significant expansion across Rolls-Royce's Civil Aerospace, Defense, and Power Systems businesses. He recently received the OBE award, a British order of chivalry, for services to international trade and investment, with a key focus on promoting India-UK trade. Through an exclusive interview, Kishore navigates us along the mint endeavors in the manufacturing industry.

In conversation with Kishore Jayaraman OBE, President, India & South Asia, Rolls-Royce.

The Global Airlines market is expected to reach $744 billion by 2026. Besides these substantial growth prospects, what are the factors responsible for increased investments in the aviation industry?
The aviation industry is among the worst hit sectors by the COVID-19 crisis. However, the industry is returning to normal at a rapid pace. As you can notice, the flights are all running at full capacity, and the airports are all filled up. The world's pent-up need for travel is the major driver of this sudden spike in growth. It is poised to create a boom in the sector. As the load factor increases, air travel feels crowded, and I think it will be so for the next year or two, maybe even three years. But let's not forget that the airlines have not yet released their entire aircraft inventory. I think they're going to start to do this slowly. For instance, Air India has many more flights they can operate and is planning to ramp up the number of flights slowly.

Ever since the emergence of the global aviation industry, safety has been the industry's top priority, and we have come a long way in that regard. How do you perceive the safety aspects of modern-day aviation? 
Given what is at stake, the need for intense safety systems has always been the predominant aspect of Aviation. It is probably the only sector with a 7-SIGMA quality standard requirement—zero degree of error. A simple analogy is that there is no parking lot in the air. You can just pull over on the roadside when your car stops or its engine fails. But airplanes don't have that luxury of stopping midway—it is catastrophic. Hence the need for extreme caution and every single aspect being perfect. This need accounts for the complex, stringent rules and procedures, elaborated systems in place, and extensive pilot training sessions. The industry has constantly evolved into today's extremely regulated, mandated industry. Today, we have a robust safety ecosystem prevailing in the aviation industry wherein modern-day aircraft don't simply fall out of the sky. It is much easier for a person to get in trouble renting a car than flying in an airplane.

The aviation industry is gathering around the grand vision of sustainability. There is a mountain to climb for aviation engineers. How do you consider this need for higher engineering skills and highly innovative approaches?
Engineers always find a way. From the days of the Industrial Revolution, engineering has been the cornerstone in figuring out how to solve the challenges of different industrial verticals and move forward. In fact, engineering has been at the center of human evolution. It goes without saying that, as we advance, the global engineering ecosystem will need to drive innovations to increase productivity & quality and reduce cost. Engineering and technology in the aviation segment will affect every aspect of the value chain. The aviation industry is moving towards sustainable, alternate fuels and electric hybrid aircraft. I believe the industry will wrap more around sustainability as we progress. However, today is more about efficiency and reliability. In the not-so-far future, efficiency, reliability, and sustainability will come together to make flight travel greener.

How would you describe Rolls-Royce's partnership with the Indian aerospace industry in the context of Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat?
It's been an excellent relationship. We started a joint venture in Bangalore a decade ago. That joint venture grew from strength to strength over the past ten years. We learned a lot amidst all the success as well. Today, our engineering facility in India produces components for our engines in the UK and Germany. Our engineering facility comprises 100 percent Indians, our components are manufactured 100 percent by Indian engineers, and the products are quality tested here in India and have an indigenous supply chain as well, not to mention that the CEO is an Indian. We only have limited interactions with the global facilities to produce components that go into the global scenario. The partnership has been a great success. Subsequently, we have built indigenous digital and business service teams here. 

We are constantly increasing our presence in India through our growing operations. Once we have a few wide-body aircrafts that come into play in India, we'll elevate those operations to a different level. We have firmly planted our foot here in India, and it's now about scalability. 

We apply a fair amount of focus on hybrid propulsion and electric propulsion. This adjoins our constant and relentless efforts to deploy the latest technologies

Rolls-Royce has a long-standing relationship with the Indian armed forces. How has been the evolution of this partnership over the decades?
Rolls-Royce has been a proud partner of the Indian Air Force (IAF) since 1933. We powered India's first combat aircraft and the first Navy aircraft. Over the decades, we have been evolving with the country's defense aerospace, and now, after almost 90 years, we are also positioning ourselves in the Indian marine sector. In fact, while Rolls-Royce has a long-standing relationship with the IAF, MTU, one of our subsidiaries, has a strong presence in the marine and the land side of things. Hence, we have partnered with the Indian defense forces on land, air, and sea between our two businesses. Augmenting our collaboration with HAL on the supply chain side is also on the cards. 

En route to the future, we apply a fair amount of focus on hybrid propulsion and electric propulsion. This adjoins our constant and relentless efforts to deploy the latest technologies. We are also looking at enhanced digital solutions that analyze data more effectively so that our clients can operate their fleet more efficiently. In the process, we are becoming increasingly local, moving toward a new world of Make in India. Our future is also going to be about co-developing products, creating IPs locally, and taking them to the world.

Tell us more about your future plans in India. What are the opportunities that you foresee, and what will be the trajectory of Rolls-Royce's businesses in India?
The Indian aviation industry is having a great time. On the commercial side, traffic is increasing, and the local airlines are expanding their services to more overseas destinations, skyrocketing the demand for wide-body aircraft in India. We look forward to helping them expand their fleet and engender incredible partnerships in the process. On the other hand, while waiting for the market boom, we have been bolstering our operations prowess by developing highly skilled engineering teams, digital infrastructure, and business services teams to help clients ace their airline operations. 

On the Defense side, as I mentioned, we further enhance our partnership with Indian defense organizations across air, land, and sea with active participation in the Atmanirbhar Bharat program. 

We also have a lot of plans in the Power Systems segment. We have a 250+ engineers-strong facility in Pune in addition to service and sales centers. We also have a joint venture with Force Motors that produces the whole engine indigenously. The three lines of business in India are doing very well, waiting to scale up.

Tell us about your leadership approach.
I believe leadership is largely about a collaborative approach, encrusting a few foundations, including hiring the right individual for the right job, enabling them to perform, and creating an environment wherein people 'want' to work. Furthermore, the corporate world has undergone sea changes in the aftermath of the pandemic. I think it is essential to make sure that we return to the basics and reintegrate ourselves into the post-COVID environment. The companies that get this right will have the highest productivity levels.