World’s first integrated aviation university in Bangalore

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) and the Bangalore-based Subramanya Construction and Development Company (SCDC) signed a joint venture agreement to set up the world’s first integrated aviation university and training campus in the Karnataka capital. The Sydney-based CAPA, a globally recognized provider of industry research and analysis, and SCDC will invest $ 125 million to develop CAPA AeroPark on a 50-acre site in Bangalore by 2012.

The fully developed campus will have state-of-the-art academic facilities together with full flight simulators, a flying school, engineering workshops and laboratories, research centres, accommodation for students and faculty, recreational facilities, a hotel and convention centre. The university would have satellite academies in Delhi and Mumbai for airline and airport management, pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, cabin crew and regulators.

“This facility is in response to a felt need for trained aviation personnel in India given the rapid growth that is envisaged in India’s aviation industry over the next few years. It further enhances the growing Australia-India trade and investment relations,” Consul General of India in Sydney Amit Dasgupta told IANS.

India has been one of the fastest growing aviation markets with demand for skilled personnel expected to triple over the next decade. Even conservative projections estimate India will emerge as the third largest aviation market in the world in the next 12-15 years.

“There is an emerging global shortage of skilled human resources in the industry, which is particularly acute in rapidly emerging markets such as India and neighbouring regions. The aviation industries in India and the Gulf alone are expected to see investment in excess of $200 billion over the next decade and availability of skills is critical to support this,” said CAPA Group Executive Chairman Peter Harbison. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Asia Pacific region now has training capacity to meet only 35 per cent of its annual requirement of almost 14,000 pilots- an annual shortfall of 9,000.

The CAPA AeroPark Masterplan has been developed after consultations with airlines, airports, governments, universities and aviation training providers from around the world, and on-the-ground study of currently available training infrastructure in India.

SCDC Group Chairman K.N.Balasubramanyam said: “This facility will be vital for developing a professional, sustainable and safe aviation industry and will help position India as a globally competitive aviation and aerospace hub.” This is SCDC’s first foray into the education sector.

Bangalore has been chosen as the location for the campus because it is the country’s aerospace hub, home to Hindustan Aeronautics, the nation’s leading aerospace company, and the Airbus Engineering and Design Centre, Boeing’s Research and Technology Centre, besides several national research institutes and companies involved in aviation technology, design, maintenance and manufacturing.

Source: Hindustan Times, November 1, 2010

IIMs, IITs asked to encourage students to opt for rural sector

In an effort to bring in professional hands in rural development sector, the government has suggested IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management), IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and other select institutes to design a matching curriculum in their courses to encourage young talents towards the emerging opportunities in the field.

The suggestion was made to the select professional institutions by the Ministry for Rural Development at a workshop organized by it in Rajasthan on October 20. Union minister for rural development C.P. Joshi suggested the professional institutes that the students can undertake internship to associate themselves with the process, said a ministry official. This will be mutually beneficial as the youth of the country will get exposure to issues related to rural development and grassroot development process will be strengthened through professional support, the official said.

A month ago, the ministry suggested to the states to create a “panchayat” (village council) service cadre and appoint at least four persons one with a degree in MBA and another in engineering in each panchayat for the implementation of various rural development schemes, promising that it will provide them funds to meet initial expenditure on salaries for eight years.

The ministry proposed that 80% of the salaries of these staff will be given by the Centre in first year and it will gradually be reduced and finally the responsibility for payment will totally be left on the states after eight years. The proposed scheme, in its first phase of implementation, will be applicable to the districts where over Rs. 100 crore (Rs. 1 billion) funds of NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is being spent or to the “panchayats” where population is between 4,000 to 5,000.

We need dedicated and professional hands in rural areas for better implementation of government schemes. There is huge shortage of dedicated staff in “panchayts”. The proposal made to states with respect to creation of “panchayat” service cadre is worked out to give it a final shape after we received views and inputs from the states, the official said.
The ministry has also asked the states to appoint dedicated staff in each “panchayat” for effective implementation of rural development schemes. For this too, the ministry wants that candidates to be appointed should have a degree in MBA or engineering, the official said.

Source: The Economic Times, November 1, 2010