Several foreign experts were seen scouting the crash site for the last two days, checking the debris to find clues.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi, senior Cabinet ministers, Congress and Opposition leaders paid their respects to former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed into the ages on Thursday night, at his residence in New Delhi on Friday.
All colleagues, who came in contact with the employee, have been asked to go into self isolation as a precaution, the ministry said.
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.
Scindia claimed Tharoor is "lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus", and for him "data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as "research".
Aviation Minister Praful Patel has requested FM to rationalise taxes on aviation fuel in Budget 2008-09.
"There are approximately 52,042 employees working in the civil aviation sector in the attached/autonomous/public sector organisations under this ministry. There are no such proposals in the above organisations," minister of state (Independent Charge) for civil aviation, Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday slammed Tata Group-owned Air India for allotting him a 'broken and sunk' seat, prompting his ministerial colleague K Rammohan Naidu to instruct the airline to take 'necessary action'.
The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise along the border with Pakistan from Wednesday that will involve all the frontline fighter jets including Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar aircraft. The exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. India's civil aviation authorities have already issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the major air exercise that will largely take place along the southern and western section of the Indo-Pakistan border. India's frontline fighter jets including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft are set to feature in the exercise.
'Government shouldn't be in the business of running airlines, instead it should develop the ecosystem of civil aviation.'
'They will cover up the failures of all the others.'
Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of Air India's AI 171 crash, said he still cannot believe how he miraculously survived the accident of the ill-fated London-bound flight in which 265 people lost their lives.
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.
A week after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, the debris, including the ill-fated aircraft's tail fin, is still lying at the site as investigators looked for clues to establish the exact cause behind the accident, said officials on Thursday.
The chartered flight, operated by a private firm, carrying Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends returned to Pune airport between 8 pm and 8.30 pm on Monday, abruptly cutting short a trip to the Thailand capital which was not disclosed to the former minister, who is leader of the ruling Shiv Sena, and his family.
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.
Authorities continue evacuating stranded pilgrims from areas around Dharali village in Uttarkashi, focusing on air rescue and relief operations due to damaged roads. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is overseeing the efforts, with central government support.
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.
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.
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.
India, which plans to start flights to Kabul whenever Pakistani airspace opens, on Wednesday agreed to take a slew of steps, including waiving off expenses, to assist Afghanistan in building up its aviation infrastructure.
Civil Aviation Ministry approved grants new rights to Indian carriers to fly to several new destinations across the globe.
Airline systems across airports, which were impacted due to a global IT outage on Friday, have started working normally, and all issues are likely to be resolved by noon on Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said. The ministry is constantly monitoring the operations at airports and airlines to ensure travel readjustments and refunds are taken care of, he added.
Barring a few, such as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu (74), Union Minister C R Patil (69) and Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna (71), most other ministers attending the WEF represent the next generation of India's politicians.
A proposal to hike foreign direct investment cap in helicopter and sea-plane operations, MRO facilities, charters, air-cargo and non-scheduled air operations has been moved by the civil aviation ministry for the Cabinet's consideration.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that up to Rs 2 lakh crore investment is expected in the country's civil aviation sector in the next five years, higher than any other sector.
The move is aimed at checking further labour trouble and garnering support for the process of implementing the post-merger integration of Air India employees, as resentment is expected over salaries and career progression issues.
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.
When specifically asked about the reason for the crash and whether Air India is privy to any preliminary findings, Chandrasekaran said, "One would have to wait for the probe to conclude."
Stating that the Centre was planning construct 15 more airports under the Greenfield Airport Policy, Singh said the civil aviation ministry is in process of identifying the most suitable low cost viable model for development of small airports to increase regional connectivity.
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.
The Reserve Bank of India's decision to allow airlines hedge jet fuel in global markets came in for praise from the industry and the civil aviation ministry, but end-users are unlikely to benefit in the form of lower airfares.
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.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu showered gifts on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman when he met her in New Delhi on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
Some pro-Kashmir resistance handles on social media have claimed that the citizens who were injured in the Pahalgam terrorist attacks were not 'ordinary', but connected with internal security and counter-intelligence agencies like the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
The government on Monday announced the implementation of a 5 per cent uniform IGST rate on all aircraft and aircraft engine parts to boost the industry. The decision, which comes into force with immediate effect, marks a significant milestone for the domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) industry, aimed at making India a global aviation hub, an official release said. Earlier, IGST rates on all aircraft and engine parts were ranging from 5 per cent to 28 per cent.
The agencies have also found some common lines and words used in these fake threats like "bombs", "blood will spread everywhere", "explosive devices", "this is not a joke" and "you will all die" and "bomb rakhwa dia hai" (Hindi for bomb has been placed) among others.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances