Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( ) ( HAL ) ( ) based in Bangalore , India , is one of Asia ' s largest aerospace companies . Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence , this state - owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry , which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft , navigation and related communication equipment , as well as operating airports . HAL built the first military aircraft in South Asia and is currently involved in the design , fabrication and assembly of aircraft , jet engines , and helicopter s , as well as their components and spares . It has several facilities spread across several states in India including Nasik , Korwa , Kanpur , Koraput , Lucknow , Bangalore and Hyderabad . The German engineer Kurt Tank designed the HF - 24 Marut fighter - bomber , the first fighter aircraft made in India . Hindustan Aeronautics has a long history of collaboration with several other international and domestic aerospace agencies such as Airbus , Boeing , Lockheed Martin , Sukhoi Aviation Corporation , Elbit Systems , Israel Aircraft Industries , RSK MiG , BAE Systems , Rolls - Royce plc , Dassault Aviation , MBDA , EADS , Dornier Flugzeugwerke , the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation . History . HAL was established as Hindustan Aircraft in Bangalore in 1940 by Seth Walchand Hirachand to produce military aircraft for the Royal Indian Air Force . The initiative was actively encouraged by the Kingdom of Mysore , especially by the Diwan , Sir Mirza Ismail and it also had financial help from the Indian Government . Mysore was favoured because of the availability of cheap electricity . The organisation and equipment for the factory at Bangalore was set up by William D . Pawley of the Intercontinental Aircraft Corporation of New York , an exporter of American aircraft to the region . Pawley managed to obtain a large number of machine - tools and equipment from the United States . The Indian Government bought a one - third stake in the company and by April 1941 as it believed this to be a strategic imperative . The decision by the government was primarily motivated to boost British military hardware supplies in Asia to counter the increasing threat posed by Imperial Japan during Second World War . The Kingdom of Mysore supplied two directors , Air Marshal John Higgins was resident director . The first aircraft built was a Harlow PC - 5 On 2 April 1942 , the government announced that the company had been nationalised when it had bought out the stakes of Seth Walchand Hirachand and other promoters so that it could act freely . The Mysore Kingdom refused to sell its stake in the company but yielded the management control over to the Indian Government . In 1943 the Bangalore factory was handed over to the United States Army Air Forces but still using Hindustan Aircraft management . The factory expanded rapidly and became the centre for major overhaul and repair of American aircraft and was known as the 84th Air Depot . The first aircraft to be overhauled was a Consolidated PBY Catalina followed by every type of aircraft operated in India and Burma . When returned to Indian control two years later the factory had become one of the largest overhaul and repair organisations in the East . In the post war reorganization the company built railway carriages as an interim activity . After India gained independence in 1947 , the management of the company was passed over to the Government of India . Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( HAL ) was formed on 1 October 1964 when Hindustan Aircraft Limited joined the consortium formed in June by the IAF Aircraft Manufacturing Depot , Kanpur ( at the time manufacturing HS . 748 under licence ) and the group recently set up to manufacture Mig - 21 under licence ( with its new factories planned in Koraput , Nasik and Hyderabad ) . Though HAL was not used actively for developing newer models of fighter jets , the company has played a crucial role in modernization of the Indian Air Force . In 1957 company started manufacturing Bristol Siddeley Orpheus jet engines under license at new factory located in Bangalore . During the 1980s , HAL ' s operations saw a rapid increase which resulted in the development of new indigenous aircraft such as the HAL Tejas and HAL Dhruv . HAL also developed an advanced version of the MiG - 21 , known as MiG - 21 " Bison " , which increased its life - span by more than 20 years . HAL has also obtained several multi - million dollar contracts from leading international aerospace firms such as Airbus , Boeing and Honeywell to manufacture aircraft spare parts and engines . By 2012 , HAL was reportedly been bogged down in the details of production and has been slipping on its schedules . Operations . One of the largest aerospace companies in Asia , HAL has annual turnover of over 2 billion . More than 40 % of HAL ' s revenues come from international deals to manufacture aircraft engines , spare parts , and other aircraft materials . A partial list of major operations undertaken by HAL includes the following :