Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Safran Aircraft Engine Services India, or SAESI, facility in Hyderabad through video conferencing on 26 November 2025. The facility is located at the GMR Aerospace and Industrial Park-SEZ, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad. It is Safran's dedicated maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, facility for LEAP aircraft engines. LEAP engines power Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
For exams, the development matters at three levels. First, it adds high-technology capability to India's aviation manufacturing and services ecosystem. Second, according to the PMO, this is the first time a global aircraft engine original equipment manufacturer has set up an MRO operation in India. Third, it strengthens India's effort to become a global aviation MRO hub, because a fast-growing aviation market also creates rising demand for engine servicing.
The facility has been developed across 45,000 square metres with an initial investment of about ₹1,300 crore. At full operational capacity by 2035, it is designed to service up to 300 LEAP engines annually and employ more than 1,000 skilled Indian technicians and engineers. The PMO described it as one of the largest global aircraft engine MRO facilities. Static-GK links include MRO, self-reliance in aviation, foreign exchange savings, high-skill employment, supply-chain resilience and the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016. In RAS/UPSC mains, this can be used as an example of industrial policy, Make in India, the services sector and strategic manufacturing capability.