Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic shared a strategic roadmap on February 12, 2026, outlining the company’s plans to ramp up its Indian operations across defence, energy, and civil aviation. This includes plans to co-develop an aero-engine for India’s next-generation combat jets, with full intellectual property transfer.
With this initiative, Rolls-Royce plans to expand its workforce in India to almost 10,000, more than doubling its current headcount. The company is also set for a 10-fold increase in local supply chain sourcing, with a long-term goal of positioning the country as a global hub for high-tech manufacturing.
“As we grow our participation in programmes across India’s defence, aviation and energy sectors, we will expand our ecosystem in India, as we have done successfully in other countries,” stated CEO Erginbilgic.
The plan was shared a day after Erginbilgic’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CEO also talked wth National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
It was wonderful meeting Mr. Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls-Royce earlier today.
We welcome Rolls-Royce’s enthusiasm towards scaling up its activities in India and partnering with our innovative and dynamic youth. https://t.co/ZWj3EcQR7c
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 11, 2026
“We welcome Rolls-Royce’s enthusiasm towards scaling up its activities in India and partnering with our innovative and dynamic youth,” Modi shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Rolls-Royce is set on making India its third “home market” outside of the UK to unlock the full potential of opportunities in the development of jet engines, naval propulsion, land systems and advanced engineering.
“Our ambitions for India are built on the strong foundations of our decades-long presence in the country, our growing footprint, our deep industry partnerships, and our competitively advantaged technologies,” Erginbilgic emphasised. “We are determined to partner India on its Atmanirbhar journey, by developing indigenous propulsion capabilities, providing sustained power to critical infrastructure and industry, and expanding local manufacturing for global supply chains.”
In a statement, Rolls-Royce shared it aims to make India a strategic home market, in line with the Viksit Bharat vision for national security and deterrence, energy resilience, infrastructure development and air connectivity.
“Rolls-Royce is currently exploring opportunities in India that include the potential co-development of a next-generation combat jet engine, as well as partnerships to localise and manufacture engines for the Indian Army, Navy and Coast Guard and potentially power solutions for critical infrastructure and industry,” the company said, adding that “these initiatives could more than double the size of the workforce that supports Rolls-Royce and its partners, to approximately 10,000 people in India.”
Presently, Rolls-Royce employs over 4,000 people in India, including 2,800 engineers. It has manufacturing joint ventures with HAL and Force Motors as well as sourcing partnerships with over 100 different vendors, including Tata, Bharat Forge, Godrej, Azad Engineering and many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company also inaugurated its newly expanded Global Capability and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru, which houses digital capabilities, enterprise services, and engineering teams supporting its civil aerospace and defence divisions.
Rolls-Royce has so much to offer India. And India has so much to offer Rolls-Royce!
Their announcement is set to soar investment and jobs in India and will further their impressive contribution to India’s growth story. From powering India’s civil and defence aerospace to… https://t.co/Y9vV1L4zGf
— Lindy Cameron (@Lindy_Cameron) February 12, 2026
The initiative has also been welcomed by British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron. “Rolls-Royce has so much to offer India. And India has so much to offer Rolls-Royce! Their announcement is set to soar investment and jobs in India and will further their impressive contribution to India’s growth story,” she shared.
