)
GMR group is planning to establish an aerospace training hub at its international airport premises here. The facility, aimed at making Hyderabad an aerospace hub, will cater to the evolving aerospace training requirements of all levels of workforce in the industry, according to the group chairman, G M Rao.
Rao said, the company's team, with the help of a French multinational Safran, had visited the aerospace training centre located in Morocco. The team studied in detail as how the institute, established with the support of the Moroccan government, had made the country the destination of choice for aerospace companies.
“We have a same vision for the Hyderabad and this state. In fact, we have developed relationship with the Safran team in Morocco, and they are ready to guide us in creating the aerospace training institute in Hyderabad. I humbly request the present state government to support us in setting up the aerospace training in Hyderabad and thus making it the destination of aerospace companies from across the globe,” he said.
Addressing the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), Rao, who is also the president of the society, said that India was poised to become the third largest aviation market in the world by 2020. The total spending in the next two decades was expected to be $25 billion for commercial aircraft and $100 billion as defence expenditure.
He, however, said that the biggest challenge to meet the enormous growth potential of aerospace and defence sector would be skilled workforce. Though India has ample technically trained manpower, “there is dearth of personal with specialised skills, particularly in the sphere of aerospace”, he added.
Chairman of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and AeSI president-elect, R K Tyagi, requested the Centre to set up a National Aeronautics Commission on the line of National Space and National Atomic Energy commissions.
Telangana minister for panchayat raj and information technology, K T Rama Rao, who also addressed the inaugural session of the AGM, requested the state chief secretary to extend the necessary help to GMR in this regard. He said that the state government had not only earmarked an additional 1,000 acres near the existing aerospace park but was also considering to set up another park on the northern side of the city.
National aviation policy:
Speaking to media on the sidelines of the event, Union minister for civil aviation, P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, said the Centre was formulating a new national aviation policy. He, however, said there was no time-frame fixed in this regard.
With regard Air India, he said that a turnaround plan was in place and "it is for them to perform".
Some states, including Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, had so far responded favourably to the Centre's request to reduce tax on aviation turbine fuel.
The states where aviation activity was low responded positively as they want more activity. The states where activity was high were dragging their feet, Raju said in response to a query.
