Recent News

Delhi, 1st June 2023: Vistara inaugurated its non-stop, 5x weekly flights between Mumbai and London (London Heathrow). The inaugural flight, operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, departed from Mumbai at 14:35 Hours (IST) and is scheduled to arrive at London Heathrow Airport at 19:55 Hours (BST). Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We are excited to launch direct connectivity between Mumbai and London – a historically significant route for trade, business and leisure alike. This new route, at convenient departure and arrival timings, is in line with our continued efforts towards offering more flexibility and ease to our customers when planning their travel with India’s best airline. We believe that our world-class product complemented with our globally awarded service make for just the right combination for an exceptional flying experience.”

Kalaburagi, 29th May 2023: Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved the night landing facility at Kalaburagi Airport, Karnataka on 17th May 2023. The Kalaburagi Airport was inaugurated on November 22, 2019, by the then Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri B S Yediyurappa. It has a runway of 09-27 (3175m x 45m) and an apron suitable to park 03 aircraft (1 A-320, 02 ATR 72/Q-400.) There has been a demand for providing night landing facilities to the airport for a long time. With the approval by DGCA for the night landing facility the Aerodrome License for the airport has been amended from VFR (Visual flight rules) to IFR (Instrumental flight rules) for All Weather Operations.

Bengaluru, 25th May 2023: AeroChamp Aviation and Defence parts design, development and manufacturing company has been awarded the prestigious AS9100 certification on May 22, 2023. The AS9100 standard, developed by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), is a globally recognized quality management system specifically designed for the aviation, aerospace, and defense industries and is a testimony of AeroChamp’s compliance to strict quality norms of aerospace standards. “A significant milestone in our commitment to quality and excellence in the aerospace indus try, this certification demonstrates our unwavering dedication to providing the highest standards of products and services to our global aerospace customers. By attaining this certification, AeroChamp Aviation has demonstrated compliance with the rigorous requirements outlined in AS9100, which encompass quality management, risk management, customer satisfaction, and continual improvement, said Dr. Praveen Srivastava, founder and CEO of AeroChamp Aviation.” He further added,“Our relentless pursuit of operational excellence and customer satisfaction has led us to undergo a comprehensive audit and assessment process. We are proud to announce that our quality management system has been thoroughly evaluated and found to meet the stringent standards set forth by AS9100. This certification represents a significant achievement for AeroChamp Aviation, highlighting our ability to consistently deliver products and services that meet and exceed the exacting requirements of the aerospace industry. It is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and expertise of our entire team who have contributed to this remarkable accomplishment.”

Kolkata, 18th May 2023: Akasa Air added one more destination by commencing operations from Kolkata. The inaugural flight will depart from Kolkata at 17.55 hrs for Guwahati. Starting 18 May 2023, Akasa Air will operate daily non-stop flights connecting Kolkata with Bengaluru and Guwahati. These new routes will also offer Akasa Air customers the option to travel seamlessly from Bengaluru to Guwahati via Kolkata with no change of aircraft. Kolkata is Akasa Air’s second destination in the state of West Bengal after Bagdogra. Being its 17th destinationa, the launch of operations from the city will help inter-state connectivity. Commenting on the announcement, Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air, said, “We are delighted to launch operations from Kolkata, our second destination in the state of West Bengal. As a prominent commercial and cultural hub, the city attracts travellers from all walks of life and is also a gateway to several leisure destinations in the region. The launch of flights from the city to Bengaluru and Guwahati will further ease travel to the Eastern belt of the country, strengthening the nation’s overall air connectivity. We hope that travellers will appreciate the option of flying India’s most dependable and affordable airline on these routes.” Belson Coutinho, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing & Experience Officer, Akasa Air, said, “We are pleased to bring the Akasa experience to Kolkata. Akasa Air is committed to offering a distinguished flying experience to its customers for which the airline has introduced multiple industry-first, customer-friendly products, and services such as Café Akasa, and Pets on Akasa. As we rapidly expand our network, we look forward to hosting an increasing number of travellers and providing them with a memorable journey onboard.”

New Delhi, 16th May 2023: Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the flagship initiative of Ministry of Defence, has reached a milestone with the signing of its 250th contract – first under Mission DefSpace – and 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract in New Delhi on May 15, 2023. The contracts were signed in the presence of Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and other senior civil & military officials. Mission DefSpace contract The first iDEX contract of Mission DefSpace was exchanged between Additional Secretary (Defence Production) & CEO Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) Shri T Natarajan and CEO, InspeCity Shri Arindrajit Chowdhary, one of the winners of the challenge ‘Micropropulsion system for cubesats’. This challenge is being led by the Defence Space Agency. Cubesats are a class of smallsats, which are modular; low-cost; easy to manufacture, integrate, and launch; and form a critical component for launch-on-demand capabilities. For imagery/Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance/communication purposes, cubesats need to be precisely aligned, hence there is a requirement of a compact micropropulsion system for precise manoeuvring and orbit correction. InspeCity is developing a gas-based system for this purpose. This technology, once developed, can be integrated with other satellites, including the cubesat swarm being developed under Mission DefSpace. Recognising the strategic significance of the space domain, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had launched Mission DefSpace with 75 Defence Space Challenges to be addressed by the private sector during DefExpo at Gandhinagar in October 2022. It aims to nurture the Indian Private Space industry through challenges addressing every stage of a space mission – from mission planning to satellite data analytics. 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract The 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract was exchanged between AS (DP) & CEO-DIO and CEO, Siliconia Technologies Pvt Ltd Shri Sushil Eknath Ghule. Siliconia Technologies Pvt Ltd is the winner of the Challenge which envisaged the development of a prototype that is a lightweight ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) based communication system using software defined antenna for Low Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit and Geostationary satellite communication. The solution by Siliconia can provide multiple independent receiver/transmitter sources that are essential in phased-array radars, typically used in satellite tracking. It may be recalled that under the ‘SPRINT’ initiative, a total of 75 Challenge statements for the Indian industry were unveiled by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’ on July 18, 2022. The initiative aims at inducting at least 75 technologies/products into the Indian Navy by August 2023 as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The iDEX achieved the milestone of signing its 1st and 50th iDEX SPRINT contracts under DISC-7 in October 2022 and January 2023 respectively and within a few months the 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract was exchanged. About iDEX Till date, iDEX has received more than 7,500 applications from individual innovators, MSMEs and start-ups under various categories of challenges like DISC, Prime and Open Challenge. iDEX has also been able to generate thousands of jobs and attract India’s talent back to the country. The iDEX is working at a path-breaking pace to ensure that its agreements with the start-ups and innovators reach logical conclusions timely, eventually opening a myriad of options for the budding, soon to be unicorns and at the same time addressing the requirement of Services. The iDEX framework was launched by the Prime Minister in 2018 with the objective to provide the platform of co-creation & co-development in the defence sector. It aims to engage start-ups to contribute to the defence sector and develop defence and aerospace setup in the country. iDEX is being implemented by DIO, established under the Department of Defence Production, MoD. In his address, the Defence Secretary exuded confidence that the iDEX will help India become the biggest defence innovation ecosystem in the world in the times to come. He also appreciated the continuous efforts and support from all the stakeholders, including the Services, start-ups, partner incubators and the iDEX team in reaching the milestone. ( Press Release shared by PIB/Mod)

New Delhi, 7th Amy 2023: In a major development, Ministry of Defence, Department of Military Affairs, has approved amendment to existing cadre management provisions for Women Officers of the Territorial Army (TA). Territorial Army had commenced Commissioning of Women Officers in TA since 2019. Thus far these Woman Officers were able to serve Ecological Task Force Units, TA Oil sector units and TA Railway Engineer Regiment. Based on the experience gained during this period, a considered proposal was prepared to extend the employment scope further for women officers in TA which has now been approved by the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri in April this year. Women Officers of the Territorial Army will now be posted with Engineer Regiments of the Territorial Army serving along the Line of Control and as staff officers at TA Group Headquarters/ Directorate General of Territorial Army at New Delhi, as per organizational requirement. This progressive policy measure is aimed at enhancing the scope of employment of Women Officers as also meet their professional aspirations since they will now serve and train under the same conditions as their male counterparts in a wider range of units and appointments including serving in challenging field conditions and in important staff appointments. The Territorial Army is based on a Citizen Soldiers’ army concept and officers undergo Annual Training on basic military skills while remaining gainfully employed in civilian life.