Give incentives to manufacturers of aircraft, helicopters to set up facilities in K'taka: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday appealed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to consider and give incentives to manufacturers of aircraft and helicopters to set up their manufacturing facilities in the state and the country.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the 15th edition of Aero India event here.
"Karnataka plays a crucial role in India's aerospace sector, contributing 67 percent of the country's aircraft and helicopter manufacturing for defence services and 65 percent of India's aerospace-related exports," Shivakumar said.
He said that despite these impressive figures, there is a significant gap in the industry.
"While aircraft servicing and repair are well-established in India, the manufacturing of aircraft and helicopters is not yet taking place in India. Most of the aircraft and helicopters used by the country are still purchased from other nations," he said.
Noting that Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, boasts some of the best talent in the aerospace industry, making it an ideal location to establish aircraft and helicopter manufacturing facilities, the Deputy CM said, "By offering incentives to manufacturers, we could retain this talent within India, prevent the brain drain."
"Hence I appeal to the Honourable Defence Minister to consider and give incentives to Manufacturers of aircraft and helicopters to set up their manufacturing facilities in Karnataka and India," he added.
The Aero India, considered Asia's biggest aerospace and defence exhibition, was inaugurated by Rajnath Singh at the Yelahanka Air Force Station here.
Noting that Bengaluru is the only city in the world to have both commercial and defence airports operating from the same strip, a testament to the city's strategic importance in national and international aviation, Shivakumar said, "Innovation takes flight right here in Bengaluru."
Bengaluru is India's aerospace capital, home to over 60 percent of the country's aerospace manufacturing and defence research, he said, over 1,50,000 people work in Bengaluru's aerospace sector, making the city a global leader in aviation and defence technology.
Pointing out that Bengaluru is among top 3 global aerospace cities in attracting foreign investments, the Deputy CM said, the Government of Karnataka is also developing aerospace and defence hubs across the state -- Bengaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru, Tumakuru and Chamarajanagara.
Bengaluru is also a pioneer in drone technology and unmanned aerial systems, which are changing both commercial and defense sectors, he added.
Shivakumar, also highlighted that Karnataka was the first state to announce an aerospace policy in 2013. "Our state has also set up a dedicated aerospace park in 1,000 acres near Devanahalli for aerospace companies."
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
