The CEO of Safran, the French engine manufacturer of Rafale fighter jet on Wednesday urged Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to ensure that the Indian tax and customs system does not "terrorise" the company but provide it with a conducive environment for investment.
The statement by CEO Olivier Andries was made during Singh's visit to the Safran Engine Manufacturing facility here on Wednesday.
"We need to make sure that the Indian tax and customs system is not terrorising us," Andries told Rajnath.
The CEO added that Safran plans to invest nearly USD 150 million in India.
During his presentation, Andries pointed out that the French multinational firm already had clients in India such as Air India, SpiceJet, Go Air among others
He also told the Defence Minister that Safran has already built the training Center in Hyderabad which was inaugurated in 2010 and trains 500 engineers annually for the skill development.
As a part of the Safran footprint in India, the company has a joint venture with HAL, located in Bangalore and its activity is to construct rigid pipes for air, oil and fuel circuits of aircraft and helicopter engines.
Taking to Twitter after the visit to the faculty, Singh said that he was "happy to meet some of the young and bright engineers from India who have come for training at the Safran manufacturing facility. Their technical knowledge and hard work is impressive and inspiring."
( With inputs from ANI )