India, July 21 -- Have you heard of Project Kaveri? This programme from the 1990s was India's first attempt to develop an indigenous jet engine. Seen as a cornerstone of the country's aerospace ambitions, it was meant to create the engine to power the Indian Air Force's Tejas light combat aircraft.

But Project Kaveri is still not complete. It failed to reach its end goal due to a lack of local technological expertise and the complex nature of manufacturing jet engines. Nearly three decades on, the ambition remains a pipe dream. But a two-year-old Delhi NCR startup is trying to create what Kaveri could not.

Founded in 2023 by Prithwish Kundu, Green Aero is on a quest to build India's first hydrogen-powered jet engines, propulsion systems...