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Adopt national aeronautics policy, says Kalam

Staff Reporter

It must integrate civil, military aviation sectors

Bangalore: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Monday called for a national policy, which will integrate the strengths of the civil and military aviation sectors and bring about synergy.

The implementation of the aeronautics policy would usher in an era of high technology and a high-skill industry, resulting in generation of assets, wealth and employment. "The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, Madhavan Nair, has informed me that the formulation of the policy is at an advanced stage. I will also try to accelerate it."

Mr. Kalam was speaking at the inauguration of a three-day international conference on `Trends in product lifecycle modelling, simulation and synthesis' at the Indian Institute of Sciences here.

He also spoke of the need for a virtual collaborative design centre or platform with "a full-fledged concept-to-reality product lifecycle management environment for the development of any type of aircraft, fighter or helicopter in a cost-effective manner." It would be not just an interconnection of computers, but an integration of different things in science and technology leading to the realisation of marketable aerospace systems. All aerospace institutions had to be connected to a grid. Aerospace partner countries could also be included in it. The initiative "should be taken up jointly by the aerospace community in the country as a mission. With the addition of the aerospace grid, India will be in a position to have aerospace vision."

M. Natarajan, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, said the budget allocation for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) went up as the requirements of the armed forces had increased. Under the 11th Plan, it received Rs. 40,000 crore and under the 12th Plan, the allocation would be Rs. 55,000 crore. Mr. Natarajan lamented that youngsters were not keen on joining the DRDO.

Knowledge powerhouse

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said the conference assumed significance with India emerging as a knowledge powerhouse. Governor T.N. Chaturvedi, Aeronautical Development Agency Director P.S. Subramanyam, Project Director R.K. Ramanathan and IISc Director P. Balaram were present.

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