Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, put to rest the speculation over the future of civil aviation show which has been regularly organised in Hyderabad every two years since 2008 and asserted that it would continue to take place, at the International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation, Wings India, here on Friday.
Responding to questions from reporters at the ongoing event in the backdrop of speculation that the event was being merged with Aero India, another biennial event organised in Bengaluru, Mr. Sinha said the two were organised with different intents.
“This is the first time we have organised Wings India on such a scale and it has been successful. This is an event for States to interact with various stakeholders. We will take feedback from all to see how we can take it forward,” he said.
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The four-day event that began on Thursday will not feature an aerial show of daredevilry, which has been a crowd-puller in the past events.
Mr. Sinha also reiterated that the Indian government was working to complete transfer of Air India to private sector by the end of this year, but did not reveal details on specific bidders. “We are on track according to the established time-line for the privatisation process,” he said.
He was also asked about Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapatih Raju stepping down from the Cabinet, but Mr. Sinha did not respond directly to a question on whether he tried to convince Mr. Raju to stay on.
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Earlier in the day, Mr. Sinha participated in a round-table discussion organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India. The Minister assured the representatives of air cargo industry that the Indian government would play a role of facilitator in regulation and policy.