New Delhi Feb 26 PTI Cyber security is no longer limited to just the digital world as it has now become a matter of national security Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on FridayHe also noted that the process of importing defence items is so long that by the time they reach our security forces many of them have become outdated and therefore the solution is to go for indigenous manufacturingEven during the period of slavery and immediately after Independence the strength of our defence manufacturing was very high Weapons made in India played a big role in World War II he said in his address at the Defence Ministrys post-budget webinarAlthough this strength of ours kept on weakening in later years it shows that there was no shortage of capacity in India then and neither it is there now he addedAbout 70 percent of this years defence budget has been kept for domestic industry only he saidThe strength of Indias IT is our great strength The more we use this power in our defence sector the more confident we will be in our security he notedFor example cyber security is no longer limited to the digital world only It has become a matter of national security he addedIt is a source of happiness that in the last five-six years India has increased defence exports by six times he saidToday India is providing Made in India defence equipments and services to more than 75 countries he noted PTI DSP DV DV

New Delhi Jan 31 PTI The Indian aviation sector has started to rebound with accelerated pace of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and easing of travel restrictions globally stated the Economic Survey released on MondayIn 2021 the Centre took various initiatives to boost the aviation sector which included calibrated opening of the domestic sector as the first wave of the pandemic ebbed and introduction of air transport bubbles or air travel arrangements with specific countries it mentioned The domestic traffic in India has more than doubled from around 61 million in 2013-14 to around 137 million in 2019-20 registering a growth of over 14 percent per annum said the Economic Survey released by the CentreThe Survey stated that the Centre in 2021 also took other steps to boost the Indian aviation sector such as disinvestment of Air India privatisation modernisation and expansion of airports boost to the regional connectivity scheme - UDAN and incentivisation of maintenance repair and overhaul MROs operationsUDAN is a regional airport development program of the Indian government and part of the regional connectivity scheme RCS of upgrading under-serviced air routes it mentioned Till launching of UDAN in 2016 India had 74 airports having scheduled operations it noted However within four years under UDAN four rounds of bidding under RCS-UDAN have taken place and 153 RCS airports including 12 water aerodromes and 36 helipads have been identified for operation of RCS flights it statedDuring the last four years after commencement of the scheme 948 valid awarded routes have been allotted to various airlines and out of which 389 RCS routes connecting 62 unserved and underserved airports including six heliports and two water aerodromes have been operationalized so far it mentionedWith the help of these supportive measures Indias aviation sector is on the path of gradual recovery from the turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic it statedAlso the government has liberalised Drone Rules in August 2021 and released PLI production-linked incentive scheme for drones in September 2021 it mentioned The Unmanned Aircraft Systems UAS also known as drones offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy and can become an important propeller for growth due to their reach versatility and ease of use especially in Indias remote and inaccessible areas it notedThe policy reforms will therefore catalyse super-normal growth in the upcoming drone sector A resurgence of the sector is foreseen as a result of swift measures adopted by the government and industry it mentionedWith the accelerated pace of vaccine roll-out and easing of travel restrictions globally Indian aviation sector has started to rebound it noted Despite the travel restrictions the total passengers carried in October 2021 reached 9958 lakhs which was approximately 68 percent of the pre-Covid level of 14625 lakh it mentioned PTI DSP DV DV

New Delhi Jan 29 PTI Over 11 acre land around the Kolkata airport which is owned and run by the Airports Authority of India AAI has been encroached by slum dwellers officials saidThe Centre-run AAI has filed FIRs with the West Bengal Police to remove the encroachers from the land the officials told PTIAs per the AAI officials slum dwellings are present in five separate pockets just outside the boundary wall of the Kolkata airportThese five pockets whichare adjacent to the diverted Narayanpur-Kaikhali road are spread across a total 11073 acres land they addedThese slum dwellings are made of items such as bamboos they statedThe officials said that the AAI is waiting for the West Bengal Police to take action over this matterThe Centre had on August 3 2017 informed the Lok Sabha that slum dwellers and other inhabitants have encroached 798 acres of land belonging to the AAIThe AAI which manages 100 plus airports apart from carrying out other duties possesses around 55800 acres of land across the country the government had notedThe Centre had said that the AAI has undertaken all efforts in an active manner to coordinate with state governments concerned to remove such encroachments PTI DSP DV DV

New Delhi Jan 26 PTI The Indian Navys tableau at the Republic Day parade on Wednesday depicted the 1946 naval uprising which contributed to the countrys Independence movement and its marching contingent was led by a woman officerThe uprising was started by the Royal Indian Navys sailors of Talwar ship on February 18 1946 and it then spread to 78 shipsThe tableau on Tuesday showed the navys theme of Combat Ready Credible and Cohesive The naval contingent comprised 96 men three platoon commanders and one contingent commanderIt was led by Lieutenant Commander Aanchal Sharma who is an observer officer posted at the Indian Naval Air Squadron INAS 314Sharma who was commissioned in June 2016 had on January 22 said that the enthusiasm and energy of the contingent is unparalleled and it is indeed an honour to be leading it at Republic Day paradeAs the nation is celebrating 75 years of Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav the navys contribution to the Indian freedom struggle had a special mention in the tableauThe forward part of the tableau depicted the naval uprising while the rear section of the tableau illustrated the Make in India initiatives of the Indian Navy particularly for the period 1983 to 2021The model of indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant with Light Combat Aircraft in air took the centre stageThis model was flanked by models of the indigenous missile corvette Kora destroyer Visakhapatnam frigate Shivalik on left and P-75 submarine Kalvari frigate Godavari and destroyer Delhi on the rightFrames on the lower section of the trailer depicted indigenous construction of naval platformsAt the parade the 72-men band of the Indian Navy was led by Vincent Johnson Master Chief Petty Officer Musician and Hon Sub LieutenantThe naval brass band played the Indian Navys song Jai BharatiJohnson led the naval band as a drum majorThis was the 18th time that he was participating in the Republic Day parade PTI DSP DV DV

New Delhi Oct 25 PTI A SpiceJet Hyderabad-Belgaum flight landed at the wrong end of the runway at Karnatakas Belgaum airport on Sunday following which the pilots have been derostered the airline said on MondayThe incident took place on Sunday and the aircraft landed safelyAn airline spokesperson said in a statement that On October 24 SpiceJet DASH8 Q400 aircraft operated from Hyderabad to Belgaum ATC had cleared the aircraft to land on RWY26 runway 26 at Belgaum The aircraft however landed on RWY08 runway 8This means that the plane touched down at the other end of the runway termed RWY08 at the Belgaum airport instead of the designated end RWY26 of the same runway The SpiceJet spokesperson said the aircraft landed safely and the airline acted immediately and proactively on receiving the information and informed DGCA Directorate General of Civil Aviation and AAIB Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau about it and immediately off rostered both pilots pending an investigation PTI DSP DV DV

New Delhi Oct 17 PTI New aircraft parts worth more than Rs 10 lakhs and non-aircraft parts worth more than Rs 5 lakh will now be procured only after the approval of the either Director Finance or Executive Director Finance Air India said on Sunday Moreover the airline in an order stated that if the repair of aircraft parts is going to cost more than Rs 10 lakh it has to be first approved by the Executive Director EngineeringThis order was issued by Air Indias Director Finance Vinod Hejmadi after Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal stated that the airlines disinvestment exercise is likely to complete within the next 10 weeks and only necessary revenue and capital expenses should be carried out till thenBansal also holds the charge of Chairman and Managing Director of Air IndiaThe airlines order stated that procurement of new aircraft parts and procurement of non-aircraft parts -- which are of more than Rs 10 lakh cost -- must be done after the approval of Director Finance or Executive Director Finance All other contracts valuing under Rs 10 lakhs would be issued with the approval of regional MM Materials Management Head the order which has been accessed by PTI statedOn October 8 the Centre announced that Talace Private Limited a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons has beaten a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh by offering Rs 18000 crore to win the bid to acquire debt-laden Air IndiaThe airlines order also said that the repair of aircraft components if it costs more than Rs 10 lakh must be approved by the Executive Director Engineering All other contracts valuing under Rs 5 lakh would be issued with the approval of regional engineering head it addedThe order mentioned that any procurement order or service order issued by any other department if it is costs between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 5 lakh has to be approved by the regional finance headNo long-term contract would be entered into by any department of air India it stated No capital expenditure exercises would be carried out in Air India without the approval of Director Finance or Executive Director Finance it notedIn case of contractual requirements the contracts would only be entered into for their tenure and validity up to March 2022 only after considering the quantity in stock it mentionedFor those contracts which are due to expire shortly the same may be extended further up to March 2022 at the same rates terms and conditions it stated PTI DSP DV DV