India, Aug. 3 -- India's fighter jet engine quest has quietly entered a decisive phase. As Executive Editor Shishir Gupta explains in conversation with anchor Aayesha Varma on Hindustan Times' Point Blank, the combination of a Safran-DRDO engine JV, revived indigenous programmes, and private sector entry has turned Narendra Modi's 2025 call for a home-grown fighter with an Indian engine from rhetoric into a real, time-bound project.

In his 2025 Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi urged India's defence ecosystem to deliver an indigenous fighter jet powered by an Indian engine. A year on, Gupta argues, the system has moved beyond speeches to specific decisions and timelines.

On the airframe side, bids for the Advanced Medium Comb...