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Fly Bharathi Group, India's emerging integrated aviation and infrastructure platform, together with its long-term Swiss investment and business partner SP-PLUS AG, Switzerland, today announces a series of landmark strategic initiatives representing a historic commitment of European institutional capital and expertise into India's high-growth aviation economy. The announcements span five transformational areas — a flagship state-of-art MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility at Bhopal Airport in collaboration with a global knowledge partner, private airport development aligned with India’s surging spiritual / religious tourism

sector, a formal Flight Training Organisation (FTO) partnership with Global Avianautics Limited, significant investments in the NBFC sector with a focus on micro financing, and a landmark technology collaboration with Mission Ops AI (UK) for AI-powered defence applications — each aligned with the Government of India's Atmanirbhar Bharat mandate, the UDAN regional connectivity scheme, and India's ambition to build a world-class, indigenously capable ecosystem across aviation, financial services and defence technology.

“India is at an inflection point. The confluence of policy reform, surging domestic demand, and a young aspirational population creates an unparalleled opportunity for long-term, mission-driven investment. SP-PLUS AG and Fly Bharathi are proud to channel Swiss capital and institutional credibility into ventures that generate genuine, lasting national impact alongside commercial returns.” said Girish Shivashankar Pillai, Founder & Promoter, Fly Bharathi Group.

An investment of USD 250 Million represents the first tranche of Fly Bharathi Group and SP-PLUS AG's long-term USD 5 Billion investment pipeline into India's aviation, Finance, infrastructure and technology sectors. Each initiative has been sized to deliver commercially viable returns at the project level while contributing measurably to India's Atmanirbhar Bharat agenda.

Flagship Initiative: State-of-Art MRO Facility at Bhopal

In its most transformative and flagship announcement, Fly Bharathi Group and SP-PLUS AG, Switzerland are set to establish a world-class Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Bhopal Airport, Madhya Pradesh, in collaboration with a globally recognised aviation knowledge partner. This facility, designed to international EASA and DGCA standards, will position Bhopal as a strategic hub for aviation maintenance excellence in Central India. The MRO facility will offer comprehensive services spanning airframe maintenance, engine overhaul, avionics repair and component services — addressing a critical national need at a time when India’s fleet is expanding at one of the fastest rates in the world. Currently, India’s airlines send a disproportionate share of their MRO requirements overseas, resulting in significant foreign exchange outflow and extended aircraft-on-ground (AOG) times. Fly Bharathi’s Bhopal MRO is designed to decisively change this equation, creating thousands of highly skilled jobs in aviation engineering and contributing directly to India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of self-reliance in the aerospace sector.

The strategic selection of Bhopal reflects Fly Bharathi’s long-term commitment to the heartland of India. Located centrally and well-connected by air, road and rail, Bhopal offers an ideal geographic and logistical base for an MRO hub that can efficiently serve airlines operating across North, West and Central India. The Madhya Pradesh government’s progressive investment climate and aviation-friendly policies further reinforce the viability and long-term potential of this landmark project.

In a move that directly addresses one of the most compelling structural opportunities in Indian civil aviation, Fly Bharathi Group and SP-PLUS AG, Switzerland are in active discussions with multiple state governments for the development and operation of civil airports with a vision to ease the last mile connectivity of the devotees along with substantial reduction in the travel time. These discussions are focused on identifying defunct airstrips in proximity of religious and cultural tourism corridors and develop it under the regional connectivity scheme. This will not only be a huge respite to the pilgrims aspiring to visit these shrines, but would also act as a catalyst for the economic development of that area, create employment opportunities and have a positive impact on its overall commercial growth.

India's spiritual tourism is not a seasonal phenomenon. It is a year-round, high-volume, economically significant movement of millions of pilgrims and devotees that generates enormous and recurring demand for air connectivity. Cities such as Ujjain, Varanasi, Tirupati, Shirdi, Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Keshod, Somnath and Mathura draw tens of millions of visitors annually, yet the aviation infrastructure serving many of these destinations remains inadequate, outdated or entirely absent. The Government of India's UDAN scheme — which targets 1,000 new routes and 100 new airports — has created the precise policy framework for exactly this kind of investment, and Fly Bharathi is uniquely positioned to deliver it.

Fly Bharathi Group is entering into a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Global Avianautics Limited (GAL), a DGCA-approved Flight Training Organisation (FTO) with established pilot training infrastructure in Odisha. This strategic joint venture aims to build one of India’s largest and most capable Flight Training Organisations, equipped with modern simulator facilities and a comprehensive curriculum designed to international standards. The collaboration’s medium-term target is to produce approximately 400 young, trained pilots — a significant milestone in Fly Bharathi’s commitment to addressing India’s acute and well-documented pilot supply crisis.

Approximately 55% of Commercial Pilot Licences (CPLs)issued by the DGCA are conversions of foreign-earned licences, resulting in significant foreign exchange outflow and highlighting a systemic capacity and quality deficit in domestic flight training. This FTO partnership is designed to change this — decisively.

Strategic Investments in the NBFC Sector: A Commitment to Micro Financing

Complementing its aviation and infrastructure ambitions, Fly Bharathi Group and SP-PLUS AG are announcing significant planned investments in India’s Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) sector, with a primary focus on micro financing. Recognising that financial inclusion is a cornerstone of India’s economic transformation, the Group intends to channel capital into micro finance institutions and NBFC platforms that serve underserved communities — particularly in semi-urban and rural India — enabling grassroots entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, and last-mile financial access. This strategic foray into micro financing reflects the Group’s conviction that genuine national development must extend beyond infrastructure and aviation to the foundational economic layer of Indian society. The investments will be structured to support responsible lending, financial literacy and sustainable credit delivery at scale, in alignment with RBI guidelines and the broader framework of India’s financial inclusion mission.

“Our partnership with Fly Bharathi reflects SP-PLUS AG's conviction in India's long-term growth story. These strategic initiatives represent our commitment to deploying patient, structured capital into sectors where Swiss expertise and Indian ambition are natural complements. We look forward to building a stronger, better-connected and more self-reliant India — one project at a time.”, Roberto Spano from SP-PLUS AG, Switzerland expressed confidence in the massive Indo – Switzerland collaboration.