Aerospace university plan excites industry, state

Academics join cheer chorus, says it's win-win

The ambitious move by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) to start an Aerospace University has been enthusiastically welcomed by the state government, aviation industry players, and academia.

HAL had recently announced its plan to set up an Aerospace University with an initial  investment of Rs 100 crore. The company expects the University to supply skilled talent to meet growing demands of the industry across the country.

Talking to Deccan Herald, State Information Technology, Biotechnology and Planning Minister S R Patil said Bengaluru is the ideal place with the right ecosystem to start the Aerospace University. “Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, has already shown the world its prowess in IT and BT. Along with huge R&D (research and development) centres, Karnataka is blessed with global and private companies operating in the engineering and manufacturing space which will help the aerospace sector,” he said.

Higher Education Minister  R V Deshpande recently wrote separate letters to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and HRD minister Smriti Irani expressing the state’s support for the initiative.

When contacted by Deccan Herald, K S Dasgupta, Director, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, said the initiative will be the right move in the right direction.

“The University can really help in bringing out quality research in space and ground-handling technologies for the industry. Besides moulding quality talent, the move will power up the growing ambition of India to be a global aviation player,” said Dasgupta.

Dhiraj Mathur, partner (aerospace and defence practice) PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the aerospace varsity concept is really the right move. “The university can give practical training to students in association with foreign educational institutions. We should be better early than late in our decision-making, to help the industry.”

HAL is vigorously pursuing indigenisation of aerospace production and technology upgradation by partnering with big private players and MSMEs as part of the government’s ‘Make in India’  initiative. The new defence offset policy is also likely to give a boost to the aerospace industry.

UT Aerospace Systems (Goodrich Aerospace) Vice President and Board Member Chris Rao welcomed the move . “We are excited about this move. Once a clear picture of the project is brought in the public domain, UT Aerospace Systems is also ready for possible tie-ups,” said Rao.

Besides boasting of the presence of private players like SAAB India, Safran Engineering Services Mahindra Aerospace, Raytheon, Maini Aerospace and Rolls-Royce India, Karnataka has created quality infrastructure like KIADB Aerospace Park at Devanahalli and the Aerospace SEZ at Belagavi in the space.