DGCA launches Phase-1 services of e-GCA and Project e-GCA aims to provide speedy service delivery in a secure environment

Phase-1 services of the e-Governance (eGCA) project of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was launched by Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, here today. Present at the event were senior officers of DGCA and Ministry of Civil Aviation. The services were launched on the new DGCA website (www.dgca.gov.in).

With this launch, the issue of Commercial Pilot License (CPL-A) with Flight Radio Telephony Operators License (FRTOL) and Instrument Rating has been automated. The applicants would now be able to fill up their flying details through DGCA portal, after getting themselves registered.

Subsequently, after getting the flying details verified by the Chief Flight Instructors / Dy. Chief Flight Instructors, the applicants would be able to submit their applications for issuance of CPL-A online to DGCA. The DGCA would, after scrutiny of the application, issue license in plastic card form with QR code having all the necessary details.

Rolling out the CPL-A in automated form would help in speeding up issue of these licenses and would do away with manual handling and processing of applications. With this roll out almost seven hundred aspirant pilots would be benefited every year.

Besides issue of CPL-A, issue of Class 1 renewal Medical Assessment to the aspirant pilots has also commenced though eGCA. This will facilitate timely issue of Medical Assessment Certificate to the aspirant pilots.

In subsequent phases, other services of DGCA will also be automated. The eGCA project is being implemented with TCS as Service Provider and PWC as Project Management Consultant. The project has been conceptualized for automation of the processes and functions of DGCA. The project will provide a strong base for IT infrastructure and service delivery framework. The project envisages an end-to-end solution including various software applications, connectivity with all the regional offices, a 'portal' for dissemination of information and for providing online and speedy service delivery in a secure environment. The project would enhance the efficiency of the various services provided by the DGCA and would ensure transparency and accountability in all DGCA functions. The eGCA project is expected to be completed by the end of year 2020.
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Biometric enabled Centralised Access Control System (CACS) &Training Module of e-BCAS Project launched - Aims to digitise employee movement process at airports

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Civil Aviation launched the Biometric enabled Centralized Access Control System (CACS) and 'e-BCAS Project Training Module 'here, today, in the presence of senior officials of the Ministry of Civil aviation (MoCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The two projects launched are important milestones to enhance security and ease of doing business at airports.

Covering 43 Airports of AAI and 5 Joint Venture airports at present, the CACS project is aimed to digitize the employee movement process at the airports. This multi-layered security system encompasses the uniqueness of the Airport Entry Permit (AEP)users, biometric authentication in addition to PIN-based identity verification through contactless smart card technology, which manages access of personnel along with RFID based automated vehicle access control system according to the region, terminal, zone, and gate access privileges. The cost of the card is Rs 225 (US$ 3.22), which shall be valid for three years. Biometric ID (Biometric enabled Centralized Access Control System having chip embedded smart AEPs) thus issued, is non-duplicable.

An MoU was signed between ECIL and BCAS on 17th December 2015 with an overall investment of Rs 34.92 crore (US$ 5 million). The project aimed to digitize the existing mechanism at the airports and reduce human intervention systematically as until now employees were issued laminated paper-based Aerodrome Entry Permit. Airports Authority of India successfully conducted SAT (Site Acceptance Test) at various airport i.e. Ahmedabad, Chennai & Kolkata recently.

Speaking at the event, Shri Hardeep S Puri said "CACS project shall facilitate the ease of processing, enhanced security and prevent unauthorized entry into airport, alert authorities to an attempted intrusion or other irregularities for immediate response; overall not only leading to ease of doing business, but also an enhanced security system." CACS project is bound to assist around 2 Lakhs employees of various stakeholders who move in & out of the airport daily, he added.

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri also launched the 'e-BCAS Project: Training Module' aimed at helping more than 1.5 lakh employees of various stakeholders by migrating from manual process of training to digital platform. The objective of the e-BCAS project is to make all the activities in the BCAS transparent, user-friendly, and efficient and above all, the project intends to provide an ease of doing business with the stakeholders.

All 29 Aviation Security Training Institutes (ASTIs) have been registered as User Entities and now they can make nominations for various courses online. Moreover, the system will also allow its users to check the approvals by BCAS, declaration of results and QR coded online certificate generation will also be done through this project only. This would result in making the entire training ecosystem of BCAS transparent as well as efficient.

Prior to the launch of this project, the whole process of training from the registration/ nominations to approval of courses as well, declaration of the results, and issuance of certificates etc. was being done manually. BCAS conducts training, testing and certification courses through its International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Certified ASTC (Aviation Security Training Centre, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi) and through approved Aviation Security Training Institutes (29 ASTIs as of now) of various Airlines, Airport operators, Aviation Security Group (ASG) and ASTIs of other entities. Apart from these, international courses by ICAO, Department for Transport, United Kingdom, and Transport Security Authority (USA) are conducted by ASTC in India.

e-BCAS Project

The 'e-BCAS' project envisaged to achieve a "paperless office" under e-Governance initiative of GoI. Its aimed at facilitating external stakeholders to access BCAS system by digital automation of all internal office procedures in 2016, the project was approved by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) at an estimated cost of Rs 21.69 crore (US$ 3.10 million). The e-BCAS project included Training module, Quality Control and Operational module and Administration etc. After modifications, the current training module part has been completed at an estimated cost of Rs 30.00 lakhs (US$ 0.04 million). only. In due course of time, with the integration of all three modules into the platform of e-BCAS, the processing time in giving clearances and approvals will be reduced considerably. These steps will ease the process of training, audit/inspections, enhance the throughput as well as a lot of time, energy and precious man hours of all stakeholders.
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Total Forest and Tree Cover rises to 24.56 percent of the total geographical area of the Country

The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar released the biennial "India State of Forest Report (ISFR)", in New Delhi. The report is published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) which has been mandated to assess the forest and tree resources of the country including wall-to-wall forest cover mapping in a biennial cycle. Starting 1987, 16 assessment have been completed so far. ISFR 2019 is the 16th report in the series.

Announcing the results, the Union Minister said that India is among few countries in the world where forest cover is consistently increasing. Shri Javadekar told that in the present assessment, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.73 million hectare which is 24.56 per cent of the geographical area of the country.

The Environment Minister further said that as compared to the assessment of 2017, there is an increase of 5,188 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country. "Out of this, the increase in the forest cover has been observed as 3,976 sq km and that in tree cover is 1,212 sq. km; Range increase in forest cover has been observed in open forest followed by very dense forest and moderately dense forest and the top three states showing increase in forest cover are Karnataka (1,025 sq. km) followed by Andhra Pradesh (990 sq km) and Kerala (823 sq km).", said the Minister.

Some Major Findings

Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram (85.41 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (79.63 per cent), Meghalaya (76.33 per cent), Manipur (75.46 per cent) and Nagaland (75.31 per cent).

The Mangrove ecosystems are unique & rich in biodiversity and they provide numerous ecological services. Mangrove cover has been separately reported in the ISFR 2019 and the total mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq. km. An increase of 54 sq. Km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2017. Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Gujarat (37 sq. km) followed by Maharashtra (16 sq. km) and Odisha (8 sq. km).

The total growing stock of India's forest and TOF is estimated 5,915.76 million cum of which 4,273.47 million cum is inside the forests and 1,642.29 million cum outside. There is an increase of 93.38 million cum of total growing stock, as compared to the previous assessment. Out of this the increase in growing stock, there is an increase of 55.08 million cum inside the forests and 38.30 million cum outside the forest areas.

The extent of bamboo bearing area of the country has been estimated 16.00 million hectares. There is an increase of 0.32 million hectare in bamboo bearing area as compared to the last assessment of ISFR 2017. The total estimated green weight of bamboo culms is 278 million tonnes, slowly an increase of 88 million tonnes as compared to ISFR 2017.

Under the current assessment the total carbon stock in country's forest is estimated 7,124.6 million tonnes and there an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment of 2017. The annual increase in the carbon stock is 21.3 million tonnes, which is 78.2 million tonnes CO2 eq.

Wetlands within forest areas form important ecosystems and add richness to the biodiversity in forest areas, both of faunal and floral species. Due to importance of wetlands, FSI has carried out an exercise at the national level to identify wetlands of more than 1 ha within RFA. There are 62,466 wetlands covering 3.8 per cent of the area within the RFA/GW of the country.

METHODOLOGY

ISFR 2019 is the 16th report in the series. In tune with the Government of India's vision of Digital India, FSI's assessment is largely based on digital data whether it is satellite data, vector boundaries of districts or data processing of field measurements.

The report provides information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock inside and outside the forest areas, carbon stock in India's forests, Forest Types and Biodiversity, Forest Fire monitoring and forest cover in different slopes & altitudes. Special thematic information on forest cover such as hill, tribal districts, and north eastern region has also been given separately in the report.

The biennial assessment of forest cover of the country using mid-resolution Satellite data is based on interpretation of LISS-III data from Indian Remote Sensing satellite data (Resourcesat-II) with a spatial resolution of 23.5 meters with the scale of interpretation 1:50,000 to monitor forest cover and forest cover changes at District, State and National level. This information provides inputs for various global level inventories, reports such as GHG Inventory, Growing Stock, Carbon Stock, Forest Reference Level (FRL) and international reporting to UNFCCC, targets under CCD, Global Forest Resource Assessment (GFRA) done by FAO for planning and scientific management of forests.

Satellite data for the entire country was procured from NRSC for the period October 2017 - February 2018. The satellite data interpretation is followed by rigorous ground truthing. Information from other collateral sources are also used to improve the accuracy of the interpreted image.
For the first time, Ortho-rectified satellite data has been used for forest cover mapping due to its better positional accuracy as it removes effects of image perspective (tilt) and relief (terrain) and scale distortions in the image to represent features in its true positions for accurate measurement of distances, angels and areas.

FSI, in a first ever attempt has carried out a rapid assessment of biodiversity for all the States and UTs (except two) and for all the sixteen Forest Type Groups as per Champion & Seth Classification (1968). Apart from the number of trees, shrub and herb species as observed in the survey, Shanon Wienner Index which gives species richness along with the relative abundance, has also been calculated for each forest type groups in each State & UT.

FSI has carried out mapping of forest types of India as per the Champion & Seth Classification (1968), for the first time in the year 2011 based on the base line forest cover data of 2005. A new exercise for refining and updating the forest type maps as per the latest baseline forest cover was initiated in the year 2016 and has been completed in 2019.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

The accuracy level achieved in the current assessment is the highest amongst all the previous assessments. The accuracy of forest cover classification has been assessed 93.17 per cent. The accuracy of classification between forest and non-forest classes has been assessed 97.20 per cent.

A study to assess the dependence of the people living in close proximity to forests for their day to day needs like fuelwood, fodder, small timber and bamboo was undertaken by FSI during September 2018 to June 2019. Findings of the study in various States/UTs has been presented in the report.

The present report also gives information on the fire prone forest areas of different severity classes, mapped in the grids of 5km x 5km based on the frequency of forest fires in the last 14 years that would enable the SFDs to manage and control forest fires effectively in the respective States.

Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) are important source of livelihood for many tribal communities and villagers living in the proximity of forests. A new information has been generated from the national forest inventory data about the top five NTFP species in each State & UT in terms of their availability in forests i.e. relative occurrence. The information has been presented in the respective sub-chapter of each State & UT of the country in Vol II.

Invasive species pose serious threat to the sustainable management of forests. Analysis of NFI data has been done for determining five major invasive species in each State & UT and also an estimate of area affected by them. This information has been presented in the respective sub chapter of each State & UT of the country in Vol II.

The information given in the report would provide valuable information for policy, planning and sustainable management of forest and tree resources in the country.
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Adani Ports acquires 40.25 per cent stake in Snowman Logistics

Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) has ventured into cold chain logistics business by acquiring 40.25 per cent stake in Bengaluru-based Snowman Logistics for Rs 296 crore (US$ 42.35 million).

The deal took place at Rs 44 (US$ 0.63) per share which is 3.2 per cent premium of the market price on 27th December and 12 per cent premium to the 60-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP).

This will trigger an open offer of 26 per cent in Snowman Logistics' shares, sources close to the development commented.
They added, the acquisition was made through APSEZ's wholly owned subsidiary, Adani Logistics. The company has acquired the stake from Snowman Logistics' parent company, Gateway Distriparks.
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Three Technology Development Projects Inaugurated and 8 Centres of Excellence for Technology Development Established by DHI

Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), Dr A.R. Sihag inaugurated three Technology Development Projects at IISc Bangalore and Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) Bengaluru recently. He also inaugurated two Technology Development Projects at PSG College of Technology and Scientific and Industrial Testing and Research Centre (SiTARC), Coimbatore respectively.

IISc Bangalore has developed a technology for metal additive printing machine with DHI support. This is niche technology and the development is being done for the first time in India.

An Industry 4.0 SAMARTH UDYOG Centre is also coming up at IISc Bangalore in order to support Indian manufacturing to adopt and assimilate Industry 4.0 technology such as Data Analytics, 3 D Printing, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, robotics machine to Machine Communication, Smarting of Legacy machine.

A Sensor Technology manufacturing / Fabrication facility is also coming up at CMTI, Bengaluru with the help of the DHI. Sensor Technology will help in making products and machines smart through deployment of function specific sensor specially designed for data extraction. Another Facility for Nano technology is also coming up in CMTI that will provide better alternative route for precision manufacturing in strategic sectors.

PSG College Coimbatore along with Industry partners developed Welding Robots, special alloy electrodes, power supply with the support of DHI.

Indigenous technology has been developed at SiTARC by triad of Academia, Industry and Government for development of Smart Submersible Pumping Solutions for Industrial and Water Supply Applications.

Department of Heavy Industry in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises had launched a pilot scheme in November 2014 for enhancement of competitiveness in the Indian capital goods sector. The scheme is focused on making the Indian capital goods sector globally competitive and give a boost to the Indian economy. The scheme addresses the issue of technological depth creation in the capital goods sector besides creating common industrial facility centers.

The scheme consists of five components which are Advanced Centres of Excellence, Integrated Industrial Infrastructure Facilities (IIFC), Common Engineering Facility Centre (CEFC), Testing & Certification Centre (T&CC) and Technology Acquisition Fund Programme (TAFP).

A Screening Committee of DHI has selected 25 projects which include:

• Development of Shuttle less rapiers looms of 450 RPM at CMTI, Bengaluru
• Additive Manufacturing technology for High Performance Metallic Alloys at IISc, Bengaluru
• Development of Smart Submersible (6 inch) Pumping Solutions for Industrial and Water Supply Applications at SiTARC, Coimbatore
• Development of 5 Cubic Meter Hydraulic Excavator - HEX 400 at HEC, Ranchi
• IIT Madras:
• Development of Orbital Motion Abrasive Cutting
• Development of Multi-station Grinding and Polishing Machine
• Development of 5-axis Multi-tasking Machine
• Development of Direct Drive Machine
• Development of Ultra Precision Micromachining Center
• Development of Low-Cost Machine Tending Robot
• Automation of Grinding Process Intelligence
• Thermal Compensation System for CNC Lathes
• Development of 5kW feed drives and 25kW spindle drives for machine tool

Advanced Centres of Excellence (CoEs):

Eight Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for Technology Development have been established at IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IISc, CMTI, HEC/PSG College of Technology etc. Technologies have been developed with industry partners in sectors like machine tools, textile machinery, earth moving machinery, metallurgical machinery and welding, submersible pumps.

CoEs at IIT Madras, IISc, Bengaluru, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, Sitarc, Coimbatore and HEC Ranchi have already been completed.

Shuttle less rapier looms of 450 RPM developed by CMTI are under testing at the facility of the industry partner at Surat. Development of the rest of the Centres of Excellence at IIT Kharagpur and IIT Delhi is at an advanced stage.

The list of 8 CoEs is as under:

I. CoE at CMTI, Bengaluru by TMMA for development of shuttle less rapiers looms of 450 RPM
II. CoE at IIT, Madras for development of 11 advanced technologies for Machine Tools & Production Technology
III. CoE at PSG College of Technology for development of three Welding Technologies
IV. COE at Coimbatore by Sitarc on Smart Submersible (6 inch) Pumping Solutions for Industrial and Water Supply Applications
V. CoE at IIT Delhi for Textile Machinery
VI. CoE at IIT Kharagpur for Advanced Manufacturing
VII. CoE at HEC, Ranchi for manufacturing Hydraulic Excavator by HEC with institutional support of ISM Dhanbad
VIII. CoE at IISc-Bengaluru with Wipro 3D for design and development of 3 D Printing technologies

A 500-acre world class machine tool park has been established in Tumkuru, Karnataka in partnership with Government of Karnataka. The Park is in the centre of machine tools cluster and will strengthen the output of the machine tools sector. 108 acres of land has already been allotted to 12 companies.

R&D capabilities in Institutions of Eminence are being leveraged to develop cutting edge industrial technologies so that challenges of manufacturing sector emerging from huge imports of high-tech products can be dealt with. India also lags behind in manufacturing Technologies.

These challenges are being addressed through this scheme of DHI that will soon be scaled up and is specifically designed to tackle these challenges.

The manufacturing sector is crucial for the development of the country's economy as the Capital Goods industry contributes about 12 per cent to the total manufacturing activity in India that is about 2 per cent of the GDP. The Government of India has set a target of USD one trillion manufacturing economy in the next five years and to achieve this the sector has to grow at double digits.
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At the end of the year 2019, Aadhaar saturation across the country crosses 125 crores

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) announced a new milestone achieved by the Aadhaar project - crossing of the 125-crore mark. This means that over 1.25 billion residents of India have the 12-digit unique identity.

The achievement comes along with the rapidly increasing use of Aadhaar as the primary identity document by the Aadhaar holders. This is evident from the fact that Aadhaar-based authentication services have been used close to 37,000 crore times since inception. At present UIDAI receives about 3 crore authentication requests every day.

Also, residents are more inclined on keeping their details in Aadhaar updated. UIDAI recorded close to 331 crore successful Aadhaar updates (biometric and demographic) till date. At present UIDAI receives about 3-4 lakh Aadhaar updates request every day.
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More than 1 Crore Houses Sanctioned Under PMAY(U) - Huge Job Opportunities In Construction And Allied Sectors

Shri Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs has informed that out of a validated demand of 1.12 crore houses in urban areas, 1 crore houses have already been sanctioned. Further, a total of 57 Lakh houses are in various stages of construction of which, nearly 30 Lakh houses have been completed. Compared to the earlier JnNURM scheme, PMAY (U) has achieved 10 times more in a span of 4.5 years, whereas the earlier scheme had taken 10 years to achieve a significantly less number. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), [PMAY (U)], is one of the largest affordable housing programmes in the world.

Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has informed that the Mission has covered a range of social groups which comprises of around 5.8 Lakh senior citizens, 2 Lakh construction workers, 1.5 Lakh domestic workers, 1.5 Lakh artisans, 0.63 Lakh differently-abled (Divyang), 770 transgender and 500 leprosy patients as of now. Empowerment of women is an inbuilt design of the scheme where the ownership of the house is in the name of female head of household or in the joint name.

The implementation of PMAY (U), has induced a remarkable investment in housing sector especially in the affordable housing segment. The houses sanctioned so far under the Mission involve an investment of about Rs 5.70 lakh crore (US$ 81.56 billion) with Central Assistance of Rs 1.6 lakh crore (US$ 22.89 billion). The Central Government is contributing Rs 1.00 Lakh (US$ 1,430.8) to Rs 2.67 lakh (US$ 3,820.3) for each house under different verticals of the scheme. As on date, nearly Rs 60,000 crore (US$ 8.58 billion) of Central Assistance has already been released.

Presently, works of about Rs 3 lakh crore (US$ 42.92 billion) is ongoing and by the time Mission accomplishes its target of 1.12 Cr houses, the entire activity will trigger an investment of more than Rs 7 lakh crore (US$ 100.16 billion).

The scheme promotes a synergetic partnership of the people and the Governments. In consonance of the Mission Guidelines, States/ UTs are also contributing a substantial amount of Rs 1-2 lakh (US$ 1430-2861) on an average which can go up to Rs 6 lakh (US$ 8,584.9) per house. Beneficiaries are also contributing their share in the range of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh (US$ 2861.6 to 7154.1) per house.

In order to supplement the additional requirement of providing the Central Assistance, over and above the budgetary support, Government has made a provision for raising Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore (US$ 8.58 billion) of which, Rs 38,000 crore (US$ 5.44 billion) have already been raised and disbursed. Government has also created an Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) in the National Housing Bank (NHB) with an initial corpus of Rs 10,000 crore (US$ 1.43 billion) using priority sector lending short fall of banks/financial institutions for micro financing of the HFCs.

The Credit Linked Subsidy for the Middle-Income Group (MIG) was introduced for the first time in the housing sector with effect from 1 January 2017. The MIG beneficiaries with annual income upto Rs 18 lakh (US$ 0.03 million) are eligible for claiming interest subsidy on their housing loans.

For the MIG, the Government has increased the area of house up to 200 sq. m. This in turn has a significant impact on banking sector and in enhancing the investment in the housing sector. Government has developed a web based real time monitoring system called "CLSS Awas Portal (CLAP)" to ensure people's participation and transparency leading to efficient delivery and minimising grievances.

In addition to this, the construction activity under the scheme has had a huge impact on the other sectors of the economy with a multiplier effect in employment generation. Approximately around 1.20 crore employment has been generated through forward and backward linkages with about 250 auxiliary industries like, steel, brick kilns, cement, paint, hardware, sanitary etc.

Due to investment being made in the scheme, around 568 lakh metric tonne of cement would be required for sanctioned houses; out of which 178 Lakh Metric Ton of cement has already been consumed through completed houses. Around 130 lakh tonne of steel is required for the sanctioned houses; around 40LakhMetric Ton of steel has already been consumed in the completed houses. It also has an impact on livelihood, transport sector, skill development, horticulture, landscape development sector etc.

Government has identified many alternative and innovative technologies through a Global Housing Technology Challenge - India. This will usher a paradigm shift in the construction technology in India and will propel in a host of economic activities.6 Light House Projects are being executed in six states across the country which will act as live laboratories demonstrating innovative, proven construction technologies for speedier and cost-effective construction of houses which are sustainable green, eco-friendly and disaster resilient.

The Ministry has launched angikaar - a campaign for change management. The campaign address and enables beneficiaries to adapt to life transformation that comes with shifting to a newly constructed house. The campaign has also converged with other government schemes like Ayushman Bharat and Ujjawala so that beneficiaries can avail the benefits of these schemes. Currently more than 12 Lakh households have been covered through this campaign which is ongoing and will conclude on January 26th, 2020.
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TVS Motor launches NTORQ 125 Race Edition in Nepal

Chennai-based TVS Motor Company launched NTORQ 125 Race Edition scooter in Nepal.

There are various design elements and features like LED DRLs and headlamp, hazard lamp, among others available in the Race Edition.

“Since its launch, TVS NTORQ 125 has become a darling of its Gen Z customers in Nepal,” TVS Motor Company Executive Vice President International Business Mr R Dilip said.

He added that the scooter is built on a rich pedigree of 37 years of TVS Racing, and the Race Edition is launched to celebrate the same.

TVS NTORQ 125 was launched in September 2018 and comes with 124.79 cc engine with the power output of 9.4 PS.
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Panasonic to invest Rs 295 crore in new electrical equipment unit at Sri City

Panasonic Corporation announced its plans to expand its manufacturing footprint in India, with a new factory at Sri City Industrial Park in Andhra Pradesh. Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd, the sales arm of Panasonic Life Solutions Company, will be responsible to set the new unit. This will be set up at an investment of Rs 294.6 crore (US$ 42.15 million) and will manufacture wiring devices, electrical wire and switchgear.

This will be Panasonic's fourth unit for manufacturing electrical equipment material in the country. It is scheduled to start production in 2021.

The company said that the Indian economy has been expanding quickly in recent years and estimated that GDP will grow at six per cent a year through 2030, not only big cities but even middle-sized ones are expected to grow in the coming years.

The demand for electrical equipment such as switches, sockets and switchgears are increasing in sync with the increase in construction of office buildings, condominiums and residences. Thus, the decision to set up the new factory by the company was driven mainly by the need to respond to the brisk demand, which would not be met by its existing capacity.

Panasonic has production bases in the country in Haridwar in the north, and in Daman and Kutch in the west, but there is none in the south, which has strong purchasing power and great growth potential.

The new factory at Sri City is expected to give the company better access to the southern market and is planned to start production of wiring devices in 2021. The unit will add fans, switchgear and electrical wire, sequentially. The company also plans to broaden its sales by expanding the product line-up targeted at the middle class, which is expected to grow exponentially in the future.

The new factory is estimated to provide employment to 600 people and will produce 8.6 million units a month.
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France's Safran considers $150-mn aircraft engine repair unit in India

Safran, a France- based group, is planning an investment of US$ 150 million in India in a new aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit to cater for its airline customers, according to the company.

Safran and GE Aviation own 50 per cent stake, each, in the US-based CFM International which manufactures engines for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 types of aircraft. Currently, around 220 Airbus and Boeing planes in India are fitted with CFM engines. Additionally, there are 485 planes on order from IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Vistara, which will be equipped with these engines and are expected to be delivered over the period of next five years.

Competing with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, CFM International won a US$ 20 billion order from IndiGo to supply engines for 280 Airbus A320neo in June. The company is planning to set up an MRO unit in India and the plans are, currently, being evaluated following the big order win.

Safran answered to queries that, “As a long-standing partner of the Indian aerospace industry, Safran is committed to supporting growth in the Indian market.”

“Given the fast expansion of the CFM fleet in Asia and in India specifically, we are considering the possibility of building a new Safran shop in this region of the world to address the growing MRO needs. This new shop will represent an investment of more than $150 million," adds Safran.

Currently, apart from Air India, which has capabilities for in-house maintenance of aircraft engines, all other carriers send their engines overseas for overhaul and major repairs. A domestic MRO unit will help Indian airlines to reduce costs and save on foreign exchange, besides generating employment for engineers and technicians.

A team of Safran executives visited Air India's MRO facilities in Mumbai a few months ago to check the airline's capabilities. It has been learned that the labour cost in India were half of those in Europe or the US, said Air India executive, and that would make a maintenance unit attractive for other airlines.

Safran Group is discussing issues related to tax and regulatory framework for MROs with the civil aviation ministry. In India, an 18 per cent goods and services tax is applicable to aircraft maintenance jobs and airport operators charge high royalties on units, making the MRO business in India unattractive. An investment decision will depend on favourable policy decisions, it is learnt. Safran declined comment on the issue of tax structure in India.
 
According to the MRO Association of India, the size of Indian repair and overhaul market is US$ 1-1.2 billion. "More than 90 per cent of business generated by Indian commercial airlines is being carried out overseas by large MRO companies in Singapore, Germany, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia," the association said.
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