India to develop civil aircraft, PM notes strategic nature of civil aircraft manufacturer

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh noted (09-Jul-2013) the strategic nature of civil aircraft manufacturing at a High Level Committee on Manufacturing (HLCM) meeting. He explained, "This is a strategic sector where there is a need to have a presence in the long term, particularly in view of the rapid growth of our aviation sector", adding: "The HLCM took a major strategic decision for the development of a civilian aircraft, of a 70-100 seater range to begin with, in India. The idea is to house the development and production in an SPV that would be created for this purpose". He also noted, "The design capabilities in NAL [National Aerospace Laboratories], HAL [Hindustan Aeronautics Limited] and other institutions in the country would be utilised for this". A High Level Steering Group under Dr V Krishnamurthy, Chairman, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council would work out the modalities of this programme. [more - original PR]