Government of India Ministry of Civil Aviation: Shri Jayant Sinha to head a 13 member Task Force for

The Government has decided to constitute a Task Force under the chairmanship of Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation for fast-tracking the roll-out of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology. The Task Force will develop a roadmap with implementable recommendations for Central as well as State Governments, Industry and Research Institutions.

The Task Force will consist of representatives from the Government, PSUs, industry and sectoral experts and submit report within 6 months of its constitution. The Headquarters of the Task Force will be at Ministry of Civil Aviation, New Delhi.

The composition of the Task Force would be as follows:

1. Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation - Chairman
2. Shri Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation
3. Shri Rajiv Gauba, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs
4. Shri Sanjay Mitra, Secretary, Department of Defence
5. Shri Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion
6. Lt Gen Satish Dua, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
7. Dr A.P. Maheshwari, Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development
8. Shri B.S. Bhullar, Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation
9. Dr. S Christopher, Chairman and Secretary, Defence Research & Development Organisation
10. Dr Girish Sahni, Director General and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
11. Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India
12. .Shri A K Ghosh, HoD, Aerospace Engg. Dept., IIT Kanpur
13. .Shri Satyendra Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation - Member Secretary

The following persons, as industry experts, will be co-opted as special invitees to the Task Force on need basis:

1. Mr. Gowtama M V, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Electricals Ltd.
2. Mr. Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing International Corporation India Pvt. Ltd.
3. Mr. Udayant Malhoutra, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Dynamatic Technologies Ltd.
4. Mr. T Suvarna Raju, Chairman & Managing Director and Director of Operations, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
5. Mr. Anuj Kapuria, Director, Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd.
6. Mr. Suresh Senapaty, Chairman, Honeywell International (India) Pvt Ltd.
7. Mr. Ankit Mehta, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, IdeaForge Technology Pvt Ltd.
8. Ms. Jyoti Bhasin, Joint Director, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.
9. Mr. Phil Shaw, Chief Executive India, Lockheed Martin India Pvt Ltd.

10. Mr. Walter Volkmann, President, Micro Aerial Projects LLC, USA

1. Mr. Vaibhav Gupta, Director, MKU Ltd.
2. Cmde G Sharma, Country Head-India, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems
3. Mr. Ranga Rao G.M., Chairman & Managing Director, RRG Engineering Technologies Pvt Ltd.
4. Mr. Lars-Olof Lindgren, Chairman & Managing Director, SAAB India Technologies Pvt Ltd.
5. Mr. Tarun Krishnakumar, Associate- Technology, Regulatory Affairs, and Public Policy, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
6. Mr. Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.
7. Mr. Arijit Ghosh, President & Managing Director, Textron India Pvt. Ltd.
8. Mr. Yogendra Jahagirdar, Director, UCAL-JAP Systems Ltd.
9. Mr. Rajsekhar Budhavarapu, Independent Consultant.
10. Mr. Sharad Malik, Chair, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, New Jersey, United States

The Terms of Reference of the Task Force are as follows:-

• The Task Force will focus, inter-alia, on research & development, acquisition & commercialisation, application & adoption in specific sectors, regulatory framework, preference for Make in India.
• A roadmap with implementable recommendations for the Central Government, State Governments, Industry and Research Institutions including outcomes, timelines, implementation & review mechanism and measurable metrics will be prepared by the Task Force. The role of the industry will also be clearly delineated.
• The Task Force may study global practices and interact with relevant stakeholders, as required, for preparation of their report.
• The Task Force will have necessary consultations and interactions with Industry, Research Institutions and Government Organizations.