The Hindu Business Line : `India needs aggressive aviation policy'

INDIA needs an aggressive policy on civil aviation to take maximum advantage of the booming domestic aviation sector as well as the opportunities in the global arena, noted aeronautics expert and Chairman of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, Prof. Roddam Narasimha, said here today.

Thecivil aviation sector, was witnessing a more than expected growth with several private companies placing huge orders for aircraft, Prof. Narasimha told newspersons on the sidelines of `SAROD-2005', a symposium on applied aerodynamics and design of aerospace vehicles.

He advocated the private-public partnership model for maximum advantage. While the public sector has technology and human resources, the private sector is good at manufacture and marketing. The strengths could be synergised, he said.

Indian companies have good scope in the small aircraft segment, which is bound to expand into a large market. But, in the larger civil aircraft segment, it would be better to opt for joint venture to design and market globally, Prof. Narasimha said.

It is a bit ironic that while the Indian private aircraft players are buying planes left, right and centre in huge numbers, the domestic civil aircraft manufacture or maintenance and repair is virtually non-existent. The major indigenous effort of developing `Saras', the 12-seater aircraft, still has some way to go, he said.

Prof. Narasimha said in the areas of research, design, development testing and human resources, the country has a solid foundation. However, with the market determining the trends and demands, the country needs to make quick decisions to get best results.

Earlier, in his keynote address to the two-day symposium Prof. Narasimha said there was a need to focus on developing turbomachinery, especially gas turbines for the industry. He wanted the industry/national labs/academia to come together in a five-year planned programme to take up some of the challenges.

The Chief Controller (R&D), Defence Research and Development Organisation, Mr Prahlada, honoured aerodynamicists - Dr Basu, Prof. M.A. Ramaswami and Prof. S.M. Deshpande.

In his address, Mr Prahlada said India was positioned well to take advantage of the opportunities in aerospace. Several advanced countries are keen to work with India in the area, he said.

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