100 years of civil aviation in India

                                                                      
The India Aviation 2012 was marked by the release of a coffee table book “100 years of civil aviation in India”, a collector's form and picture driven book conceived by Civil Aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi bringing forth the salient features, seamlessly integrating the past with the present. Each chapter of the book like “Take Off”, a reminder that aviation was not new to India, and “Wings to the Nation”, describing the airlines that dotted Indian skies to “Hubs of Excellence”, reflecting the works done by public and private operators, is designed differently to keep readers engrossed. The treatment of the voluminous history is sure to make readers feel as if they are going through a story book.       
To commemorate  the occasion, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has constituted a high level committee to be chaired by the Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Praful Patel to deliberate on the scale and the modalities of the celebrations.   The committee includes former Civil Aviation Ministers Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mr. Sharad Yadav, Mr. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mr. Shahnawaz Hussain and Mr. Anant Kumar;  eminent Indians who have contributed to Indian Civil Aviation like  Mr. Rakesh Sharma, first Indian Cosmonaut, Mr. Vijaypath Singhania,   Air Marshal Arjan Singh, Ms. Saudamini Deshmukh, the first lady pilot in the commander’s seat in India, Shri Satish Sharma, MP  and  Chairman of Aeroclub of India, Captain G. Gopinath, Shri  Dipinder Hooda,  MP, Shri Naveen Jindal, MP, Secretaries of the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Defence and Tourism, Chairpersons of  all Indian airlines, Chairpersons of all Indian airports, CMD Pawan Hans, Chairman ISRO, representatives of Tour and Travel Operators,  eminent pilots, representatives of IGRUA, NFTI,  NAL, HAL, BCAS, DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 
The display of industry-leading aircraft of the Bombardier was a highlight of the third edition of the summit. The Learjet 60XR, Challenger 300 and Global 5000 business jets as well as the Q400 NextGen Turboprop, all in operation in the country, wowed the audience, comprising business visitors and the media.
The aircraft manufacturer forecast that 4,000 aircraft in the 20-149 seat category would be delivered to Asia Pacific region (including China) over the next 20 years and this is one main reason why the aircraft manufacturer chose to be here for the event.