FIRMING UP ALLIANCES
The five-day event, supported by DGCA, AAI, Air India and Pawan Hans Ltd, India Aviation 2012, served as a platform for new deals and joint ventures between Indian and foreign companies
DRAWING
INAUGURATION CEREMONY.
INSPIRATION FROM THE
response by the Indian civil aviation industry during India Aviation 2008 and 2010, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) jointly with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), organised the third edition of India Aviation 2012 from March 14 to 18, 2012, at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad. The five-day-long event, supported by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Air India and Pawan Hans Ltd, was an international exhibition and conference on civil aviation. It consisted of an indoor exhibition spread over 6,000 square metres, static display of 22 aircraft, a mix of fixed and rotary wing machines, a day-long conference on civil aviation, a CEO Forum, business meetings and media briefings. The UK, France, US, Russia, Belgium, New Zealand, Canada and several other countries and leading business and commercial aircraft manufacturers set up pavilions at the show. India Aviation 2012 served as a platform for new deals and joint ventures between Indian and foreign companies.
India Aviation 2012 was presided over by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh. Accompanying him on the dais were N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh as the Chief Guest; Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas; Peter Burleigh, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the United States to India; Elisabeth Dallo, Head-International Cooperation, DGAC France and R.V. Kanoria, President, FICCI. The welcome address was delivered by Dinesh Keskar, Chairman of FICCI Civil Aviation Committee and President, Boeing India.
In his opening remarks, Dinesh Keskar stated that the third edition of India Aviation was being organised jointly by MoCA and FICCI with UK as the ‘partner country’, France as the ‘focus country’ and US as the ‘guest country’. Stating that the Indian civil aviation industry was amongst the top ten in the world, he added that it offered immense investment opportunities and went on to say that India Aviation was the largest civil aviation air show in the region and that this year, the strength of companies participating was 200, up from the previous edition two years ago by 20 per cent.
Peter Burleigh, the American Chargé d’Affaires to India, expressed optimism about the future of the civil aviation industry in India and said that his country was prepared to assist India meet the emerging challenges in this sector. In his address, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Jaipal Reddy said that the future for the civil aviation industry in India was bright and that the government would do everything to help this sector. He hoped that India would soon be among the top five nations of the world in the regime of civil aviation. Chief Guest N. Kiran