Jan Widerstrom, chairman, Saab India Technologies, told Economic Times in an interview, “I say that I want to be Indian. I want our company to be Indian, and in the right environment, we will be Indian,” he said. “The government is already working to make the business environment right.”
Saab has offered to manufacture the Gripen fighter aircraft in the country, as well as support Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., in manufacturing the next generation version of the LCA Tejas.
“We see synergies between the ‘Make in India’ initiative championed by the Indian government and Saab’s long-held focus on ‘Teaming up With India’. Having the full support of the Swedish Government, Saab is prepared to make India a design and technology hub in the next decade and also contribute towards developing Indian aerospace capabilities for the next 100 years. We have a ready-made blueprint that complies with every aspect of India’s defense and security ambitions, and cutting-edge systems in our portfolio”, he remarked.
Talking extensively on the Indian market and Saab’s prospects, Widerstrom said, “We see India as one of our most important markets. Our global strategy is to have a big enough global footprints in each market and India has a vast base of engineers and the country is growing. We definitely see big prospects for the future.”
