IAF set to raise second LCA squadron in Sulur
The Indian Air Force is all set to raise its second squadron of the locally made light combat aircraft Tejas at Sulur in Tamil Nadu on May 27, people familiar with the development said on Sunday. The IAF’S first Tejas squadron was raised at the Sulur air base in 2016 with two aircraft and more planes joined the fleet progressively.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria is expected to travel to Sulur on Wednesday for the event. The second squadron is being raised with the first aircraft in the final operational clearance (FOC) configuration and more will be added later, officials said.
The IAF has so far ordered 40 LCAS, split in the initial operational clearance (IOC) version and the more advanced and FOC configuration. The first squadron consists of IOC aircraft.
“The raising of the squadron, though delayed, is welcome news. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltdhas to speed up production of the Tejas to meet trust placed on it by the IAF; 8 Tejas per year is just not acceptable,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
In March, the defence ministry gave green light to purchase of 83 LCA MK-1A advanced Tejas jets from HAL. Contract is expected to be inked in the coming months.
The deal, expected to be worth Rs 38,000 crore, is critical for HAL to prevent a complete halt of production at its facilities. HT reported January 11 that HAL’S order books are empty beyond 2021-22 and new orders from forces --- especially for 83 jets --- are critical for production continuity. HAL is expected to deliver first MK-1A jet three years after the deal is signed. IAF is struggling with a shortage of warplanes. Compared to an optimum strength of 42-plus units required to fight a two-front war, count of IAF fighter squadrons has shrunk to 31. First four of 36 Rafales ordered from France are expected by July-end.
Two candidates from the city – Mumbai-based coaching institute teacher and mentor Shashank Prabhu, 34, and engineering graduate Ankit Thakker, 24 – emerged toppers of the state’s MBA common entrance test (CET) , as the results were announced on Saturday. A total of 1.1 lakh students appeared for the exam on March 14 and 15 and the results were delayed by two months.
Shashank scored 159 out of 200, while Ankit scored 155 and got the second rank. Both of them scored 99.99 percentile.
“This is my second attempt at CET as I wanted to better my score and be eligible for a seat in one of the top B-schools in Mumbai,” said Ankit, a resident of Chembur, who got his engineering degree from the Institute of Chemical Technology two years ago.
This is the third time Shashank got the first rank in the entrance test and the sixth time he scored 99.99 percentile. Shashank
said the overall scores of CET aspirants dipped this year because the visual reasoning (VR) part of the paper was more difficult compared to the past few years. “Surprisingly, Maths was easier,” said Shashank, a resident of Dombivli.
While 16 students with scores between 159 and 146 scored 99.99 percentile, seven scored 99.98 percentile in the exam this year.
A total of 1,041 students scored 99 percentile and above, while over 1,200 candidates scored less than 1 percentile in their test.
The qualified candidates can now register themselves for the online counselling session, following which students will get to choose the institutes they want to seek admission in. The CET cell, however, is yet to announce an admission schedule.