Minister of Public Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and Prime Minister of Assam Dr. HimantaBiswaSarma today opened the first North Eastern Regional Aviation Organization (FTO) District in Lilabari, Assam. The event was honored by Shri Kiran Rijiju, Minister of Justice and Justice, Dr. RanojPegu, Assam Minister of Education, Shri JishnuBarua Assam Secretary General, Shri PradanBaruah, Member of Parliament, Lakhimpur, Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman, Airport Officials of India, Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, MOCA, SmtUshaPadhee, Joint Secretary and Shri Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri Karan Mann, CEO, Redbird Flying Training Academy and other dignitaries from the Assam Government, Department. of Civil Aviation and the Airport Authority of India.
India International Center
Lilabari is one of nine FTOs to be established at five Indian airports in June 2022 including Belagavi and Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Jalgaon in Maharashtra and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. M / s Redbird Aviation has acquired the right to establish an FTO in Lilabari. The Airports Authority of India has leased FTO land and facilitated official authorization from the DGCA and BCAS. With the establishment of these FTOs, India will aim to become a global pilot training center. Currently, in Lilabari, Redbird Aviation has launched two pilot training aircraft – the Tecnam P2008JC Single Engine and the Tecnam P2006T Multi-engine to be upgraded. to 5 at the end of the year.
Lilabari FTO, Lower Classes (Online + Offline), Practical Flight Training, Drone Flight Training and Simulator Training in Alsim Level-5 Simulator and A320 Fixed Base Simulator will be conducted in Single Batch of 10 to be upgraded out of 20. the FTO registration process will take place through an online login test that is conducted every few months. Applicants must be over 18 years of age and must have completed their 12th board exams in English, Physics and Maths. Upon completion of their training, students may be employed at airlines, private employment agencies, aviation ambulances, government aviation services, Cargo / freight services.
The Minister of Public Aviation says
Speaking at the event, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said, “I consider myself blessed to be in Assam which is famous all over the world for its history and culture. Assam is becoming a Northeast growth engine. Lilabari Airport was opened by former Prime Minister Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003-2004, and today it is given due prominence by opening the first FTO in the Northeast. With the opening of this FTO, the youth of the North East will have the opportunity to experience Vidya (Knowledge) and Gati (Speed). 40% of our pilots are trained in a ship which results in the loss of Rs 500 crore in foreign currency. To address this, we have decided to launch 9 new FTOs this year and in the next phase, 15 new FTOs will be established, which will take the current number of FTOs in India from 34 to 58.
The minister continued: “We have introduced a new helicopter policy that has reduced additional operating costs, and in Assam, we will establish two new airports in Geleki and Nagaon in the next 2 years. Ahead of the Guwahati River, we will establish the Umrangso water aerodrome in the coming years. Prior to 2014, we had 74 airports in India but in 7 years, we have established 66 new airports taking a total of 140 airports across the country. In Assam, we used to have 4 airports in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Silchar but today we have established 3 new airports in Lilabari, Tezpur and Rupsi. “
Reduced VAT on ATF
Commenting on the UDAN program and its benefits for Assam, the minister said, “Guwahati, the capital of Assam is linked to Durgapur, Varanasi, Dibrugarh in this summer program and we will link it with Bangkok, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Yangoon and Hanoi.” Drs. HimantaBiswaSarma to reduce VAT in ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel), Shri Scindia said, -12 reduce VAT from 20-25% to 1-4% at my request. There are 23 provinces where VAT is reduced by 1 to 4% and I ask the Prime Minister to reduce the VAT rate of Assam so that we can use more flights to and from Assam. Countries have reduced their VAT, seeing a 15% increase in connections over a 2-month period. ”
The development of the North East Region (NER) is not only strategically important, but also part of India’s growth agenda. Communication in the NER is very important and in many areas air transport is a way of life for people and goods. Under “UdeDeshKaAamNagrik (UDAN)”, the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has identified the NER as a priority area. This has helped to improve communication within the NER. In this regard, new airports are being upgraded and older airports are being upgraded. Considering the hilly terrain, the operation of the helicopter under the UDAN system is focused on connectivity.
North
At present the North East Region has 15 active airports compared to 9 before 2014. About 18 airports, helicopters / helicopters, waterports are also awarded under the UDAN program and are being upgraded in the NER. These major aviation infrastructure development projects undertaken by the Department of Public Aviation will improve tourism, investment and NER employment.
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