Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Friday said the airline industry in India has grown by 400 per cent in a short span of about six-and-a-half years.
Union Minister Praful Patel was formally elected president of the All India Football Federation on Tuesday, thus bringing down curtains on ailing Priyan Ranjan Dasmunsi's 20-year reign at the helm. Patel, the Civil Aviation minister in the UPA government, was elected unopposed at the Annual General Meeting of the AIFF at its headquarters in Delhi.
The four recommendations came from Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs,Vayalar Ravi, member of US Congress Joseph Crowley and Dalis Adler, staff associate, sub-committee on the Middle East and South Asia under the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The US Homeland Security has apologised to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel who was questioned by the immigration authorities in Chicago as his name and date of birth happened to match with that of a person on America's watch-list.
Civilian Aviation Minister Praful Patel did not ask for an apology when he met United States Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in Montreal for being questioned by immigration authorities at the Chicago airport. "He (Patel) didn't ask for an apology, but we did talk about what is needed in both countries to make sure that air travel remains safe," Napolitano said.
Former Civil Aviation Minister and senior NCP leader Praful Patel on Wednesday questioned the "silence" of Singapore Airlines over the horrific crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad last week.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said there was no proposal before the government for setting up a new airport at Amravati.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who was at the receiving end in the tapped conversations of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, on Wednesday wondered how she came to prominence and what was her claim to fame.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has often played the role of a crisis manager to sort out differences between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, of which he is a prominent leader. The minister is now playing a similar role on the personal front, trying to defend himself amid reports of his alleged involvement in the controversial deals surrounding the Indian Premier League.
He is the first high-profile person who has deposed before the ED in this case.
On Twitter, he wrote, "Saddened to hear about the unfortunate incident at Ghatkopar as Charter plane crashes in an open area. Salute to the pilot who showed presence of mind to avoid a big mishap, saving many lives at the cost of her own life. #RIP to all the 5 Dead. My deepest condolences."
The NCP leader said that he will be happy to cooperate with the ED so that the agency understands the "complexities" of the aviation sector.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel on Tuesday got the experience very few Patels have been able to escape in the United States of America.
Patel is being questioned in connection with a money laundering probe related to losses suffered by Air India as part of an alleged multi-crore aviation scam.
From a high-profile civil aviation ministry to a relatively low-key Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Praful Patel is currently busy in launching a multi-pronged strategy for making public sector enterprises globally competitive.
Noting that Indian civil aviation sector is experiencing high levels of growth, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said the industry must tackle the shortcomings of inadequate infrastructure and shortage of skilled manpower to sustain growth.
New Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi on Thursday sought the support of all employees of ailing Air India in restoring its lost glory and said the staff and the management should work in coordination to achieve this.
Civil Minister Praful Patel on Monday ruled out retrenchment among employees in public sector Air India and blamed rising fuel prices as the reason behind the present crisis in the aviation sector.
In an effort to give a final shape to the much-awaited aviation policy, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Tuesday held discussions with Commerce Minister Kamal Nath
Government said on Wednesday the merger and acquisition policy for the civil aviation sector was not tailor-made to suit any airline but based on the best international practices.
Displaying a washing machine on its press conference dais, the Congress on Saturday taunted the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filing a closure report in a 2017 corruption case against Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel and said the ruling party's 'fully automatic washing machine' works on the principle -- 'join BJP, case closed'.
For the first time since the merger of the two national carriers, Air India's losses have started to show a declining trend, with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel saying that the "worst is over".
India will be among the top five aviation markets in the world - both in terms of size and scale in the next five years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said.
"There was a drop of 30 per cent in passenger load factor leading to losses in many top airlines in the world including British Airways. But last quarter of 2009 has again raised some hopes of revival in the country," Patel told reporters in Nagpur on Monday.
Owning "moral responsibility" for the Mangalore air crash, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel is believed to have offered to resign to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who reportedly turned down the offer, on Saturday.
Aviation Minister Praful Patel has requested FM to rationalise taxes on aviation fuel in Budget 2008-09.
The Bharatiya Janata Party attacked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel for his alleged role in valuations of Indian Premier League bids, saying the minister could not value Air India or Indian Airlines but wants to play a consultant's role in T20 cricket tournament.
Government is considering amending Civil Aviation rules to make it mandatory to have Category II instrument landing system at all airports across the country to reduce fog-related problems.
The civil aviation industry was poised to generate about 20 lakh (2 million) jobs in the next five years, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in Mumbai on Friday.
The Indian aviation industry would create 40 lakh (4 million) jobs in the next 10 years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in Mumbai on Saturday.
The Tatas operated the country's first airline. It was later acquired by the government.
The civil aviation ministry has sought continuation of the exemption on withholding tax on aircraft leased from foreign companies in the next budget for another year, saying it would benefit several airlines in the country.
With terror threats looming large over the civil aviation sector, an advisory council of experts will be set up soon to deliberate on and recommend measures to step up aviation security.
The budgetary provision for all aviation infrastructure has generally been reduced, apparently with the view that most of the airport modernisation programmes, barring those in Kolkata and Chennai, were being carried out through public-private partnership.
Air India's ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 underwent comprehensive maintenance checks in June 2023 and was due for the next scheduled comprehensive checks in December this year, according to airline officials.
The Union civil aviation ministry would take up the issue with the finance ministry, Patel said, expressing the hope that the latter would respond favourably to the civil aviation ministry's representation.
The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash, were held with full state honors in Baramati. Prominent leaders and thousands of mourners attended the funeral.
The Centre asked state governments on Friday to review and rationalise their taxation policy on jet fuel and land acquisition practices to encourage the expansion of civil aviation sector so that they could themselves reap the benefits of its unprecedented growth.
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