As part of business development initiatives, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited intends to diversify into civil aviation and is making efforts to re-open HAL Bangalore airport for short-haul operations, according to R.K.Tyagi, Chairman of HAL.
Delivering his keynote address here recently as a part of Aerospace Luminary Lecture Series organised by the Hyderabad chapter of the Aeronautical Society of India in Hyderabad, he said “We are already in a position to operate civil aircraft at HAL, Ojhar (Nasik), just about 200 km from Mumbai and 220 km from Pune. This should give a boost to the regional economy.”
Tyagi said, “Nowhere in the world airports are closed once a new one is developed. It happens only in India. In fact, most cities take pride in having more than one airport. Therefore, we will make efforts to revive the Bangalore airport.”
He felt that modernisation is key to any business, especially in the aerospace sector. HAL has cleared modernisation proposals worth Rs 6,000 crore, its largest at one go, besides focusing on redefining the customer sourcing philosophy, advance resource planning and strengthening project and contract management.
As a part of the efforts to reach out to its partners, HAL has decided to go to partners and customer sites and engage in dialogue and interaction with them to make the process mutually beneficial, he explained.
HAL will take up more activities in Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) and Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) business segments, he disclosed.
Referring to challenges in Indian aerospace, Tyagi felt that there was a need to standardise the processes so that Indian organisations and products go for single standard.
“The other aspect is our manpower which needs to be reinforced and cross pollinated,” he said.
He called for bridging information gaps between civil and military to leverage sectoral capabilities and technology diffusion.
Tyagi said that 2020 will be a major landmark when during the Republic Day parade we will have a range of aircraft developed by HAL on display.