Team size: Four

Can you tell us a little about your significant accomplishments over the last few years, as a team or by yourself?

In recent times, we have established a compliance culture with a lot of focus on communication. Additionally, we have supported key commercial campaigns for aircraft sale and services, actively advised on defence, offset and related matters, and supported key Airbus training programmes, in addition to providing guidance. Lastly, we have worked on regulatory compliance, including litigation and other adversarial matters, and supported all Airbus procurement, including standardising templates, supporting negotiations and training of commercial teams.

Have any recent political, economic or regulatory changes impacted your work? How are you dealing with this?

The government of India has identified the aerospace and defence sector as a focus area for the Make in India programme and has taken considerable steps to push forth the establishment of native manufacturing infrastructure, supported by requisite research and development ecosystem. This is thoroughly evident in the substantial changes introduced in the defence policy framework in 2020, with India opening its space sector for private and foreign participation. This domain could further help in establishing long term opportunities and partnerships, capitalising the synergies in defence and space.

There are also multiple policy changes to energize the MRO, reduce customs, promote sustainability, mechanism for ATF and promote the aircraft lease financing industries. We are supporting government affairs and policy, including advocacy for the sector. One such initiative was forming an aviation skill development hub, along with other aviation companies, so that there can be a pipeline created with a focus on talent development which can then feed the sectoral needs.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected your company and the team’s priorities?

Airbus is committed to sustainability. Our motto is “we pioneer sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world”. As a company we are focusing a lot of R&D on building a zero emissions aircraft, apart from fuel efficiency improvements, sustainable aviation fuel, hybridisation and electrification. Our defence and space portfolio also supports environmental monitoring, climate change monitoring and maritime monitoring

The same spirit and fervour run through the legal team as well. Corporate social responsibility comes within the team’s portfolio and the UN Sustainability goal 13 on environment, which is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. This one of the goals chosen by us. In this regard, Airbus is sponsoring the pond rejuvenation across two sites in India and Airbus volunteers are participating in the clean-up and plantation drive. What earlier was a contaminated swamp is now a pond surrounded by greenery.