Aerospace Diary

        Neelam Mathews Sept 19, 2013   Prasad R Menon is Chairman of Tata Quality Management Services. He also serves on the boards of several Tata companies, including Tata Industries, Tata Chemicals, Tata Projects and Tata Consulting Engineers. He is also on the boards of Axis Bank, SKF and the Sanmar Group. Menon has over 40 years of experience, working at some of the world’s leading companies in the chemical and power industries, including ICI, Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals, Tata Chemicals (where he served as managing director), and Tata Power (from where he retired as managing director in January 2011). Menon studied engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.  

Neelam Mathews March 27, 2013 The saga of the elusive Civil Aviation Policy Draft  posted on the MoCA website for what seems decades, doesn’t say much for our planners and decision makers. Time the industry raised its voice as the loss will only be its own. We might remind ourselves that unless the draft becomes a policy, it will remain adhoc and victim to sudden unpalatable whims and fancies of those in power. Besides, investors might see this as a deterrent. But then, that’s our view at Aerospace Diary. Even as minister Ajit Singh remained non-committal on when the draft civil aviation policy would be approved, a quick search into the history of this elusive draft is disturbing and shows there is no will nor any need by the government to put a method into the madness. April 1, 1997-The civil aviation policy was cleared by the Cabinet during PM Deve Gowda’s time. Was it a coincidence that it was April Fool’s Day!? June 6, 1997- Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral ...

AIN Air Transport Perspective by  Neelam Mathews Indian airlines want to be bolstered by foreign investment. April 30, 2012, 11:10 AM As highly taxed fuel, mounting debt and aggressive ticket pricing stifle the fledgling airline industry in India, the government seems ready to renege on its promise to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country’s carriers. Current rules do not permit foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers, although non-aviation-related investors can hold up to a 49-percent stake. The government’s apparent intention to break its promise to liberalize the industry traces its roots to political wrangling and an effort to woo rebellious factors of the ruling Congress Party. Burdened with a combined debt of $20 billion, Indian airlines have lost $2.5 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2012, according to Australia-based consultancy Center for Asia Pacific Aviation. “This [FDI] has always been a sensitive issue but the recent debate has been cloud...