Air India and SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), part of the Singapore Airlines Group, have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the establishment of a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) joint venture in India. The Singapore Airlines Group holds a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, and the companies said the arrangement is intended to expand their partnership in technical and maintenance services. The memorandum, signed on Friday, will examine collaboration across the MRO sector and seek to support the development of India as a global aviation MRO hub. The memorandum is intended to build on existing ties under which SIAEC already provides maintenance and component support for Air India as the airline expands its fleet and network. Air India described the agreement as aiming to deepen the partnership by tapping SIAEC's MRO and technical expertise to bolster the airline's operations and jointly develop a world-class MRO ecosystem in India. The collaboration could include the formation of an MRO joint venture in India to serve the increasing needs of the Indian and regional aviation markets, the companies said in a release. The two parties have a recent history of cooperation: in May 2024 Air India appointed SIAEC as its base maintenance strategic partner for development of base maintenance facilities in Bengaluru, and in February 2024 they signed a 12-year Inventory Technical Management (ITM) agreement covering component support for Air India's Airbus A320 family fleet. The Tata Group acquired Air India from the government in January 2022, after which Singapore Airlines Group acquired a stake in the airline. Earlier this year the carriers signed a commercial cooperation framework under which they will explore ways to improve connectivity between India and Singapore. Industry analysts view the move as aligning with broader government and commercial efforts to expand India as an aviation services hub and to capitalise on demand from a growing fleet, while the memorandum itself includes language that signals potential rather than firm commitments.