Why it is in the news
On 6 October 2026, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, witnessed the delivery of the 2,000th aero-engine built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)'s Koraput Division at Sunabeda, Odisha. He called for indigenous capability across the design, development, testing, manufacture and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of advanced engines, “particularly for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)”.
The exam angle
Issue: India has mastered licence production and overhaul of aero-engines but not the design of a modern fighter engine — the critical gap in defence self-reliance.