Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV), located in Vadodara, and Airbus announced a partnership on Friday, July 5, to expand the Indian aviation industry, according to a news release from the Railway Ministry. According to the ministry, the agreement includes a full scholarship programme for 40 GSV students for the entire programme duration, setting up the Centre of Excellence at the GSV as well as the Airbus Aviation Chair Professor position at the GSV.
The partnership is anticipated to significantly advance GSV’s vision to be industry-driven and innovation-led university and define a template for industry-academia collaboration in India.
“Following up on the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed in September 2023, a definitive agreement was signed at Rail Bhawan, New Delhi, between Mr Rémi Maillard (President and Managing Director, AIRBUS India and South Asia) and Prof. Manoj Choudhary (Vice-Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya). Further, GSV and Airbus will partner for executive training for working professionals in the aviation sector,” the ministry said.
Along with Union Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh, Railway Board Chairman and CEO Jaya Varma Sinha, Ministry of Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam, and senior Railway Board officials, attended the event by Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is also the first chancellor of the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya.
What did the Railway Ministry say?
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pointed out that now MoU has been converted into action. “Again in the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ as our prime minister says, there has to be development of aviation, highways, railways and road transportation. Practically, everything has to go together. We will keep on collaborating with all in the spirit of ‘Sabka ‘Saath, Sabka Vikas’,” Vaishnaw said.
He further explained the reason why GSV was established. He said that GSV was to have a focussed and specialised institution which caters to all sectors of transportation. “We started with Railways, gradually moved to manufacturing, next sector we moved onto is Civil Aviation, the next sector planned is Ministry of Shipping and Logistics. Again, we will start in a focussed way, one program from that sector. Then, we will move to other sectors in transportation,” he added.
What’s there for Aviation?
Civil Aviation Minister Naidu said over a period of 10 years, the count of airports have doubled from 74 to 157 airports now. “Udaan scheme has brought Tier II and Tier III cities on the map of aviation. We will continue to take mentorship of Railways. The Ministry of Civil Aviation will fully collaborate and support Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya for the progress of the aviation sector and that GSV should prepare to launch Masters and Phd programs,” he added.
Additionally, Rémi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus in India and South Asia, said that the C295 programme will support 25,000 direct and indirect jobs in India. “We are developing the Airbus India Training Centre in Gurgaon along with Air India to train about 5,000 pilots over the next 10 years,” Millard said.
(with inputs from PTI)
