<div><strong>By Haider Ali Khan</strong></div><div> </div><div>Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Friday (16 October) inaugurated International Civil Helicopters Conclave 2015. The minister asked all stakeholders to come up with new ideas to give a boost to the civil aviation sector as a whole, and the helicopter industry in particular.</div><div> </div><div>Raju also launched the corporate logo of Pawan Hans Limited and released a coffee table book on the occasion. The conclave marks the 30th anniversary of Pawan Hans Limited.</div><div> </div><div>He said, "A new civil aviation policy is in the process of being drafted. Once it is ready, response and comments of stakeholders will be sought, so that a vibrant and forward looking policy can be put in place. We should put policies in place so that flying becomes affordable and reaches the masses."</div><div> </div><div>Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma stressed upon the need to increase helicopter services to the north eastern and hilly areas of the country where road connectivity is a major problem. He talked about the need to create Helihubs in Delhi and Guwahati to facilitate smooth navigation of helicopters. </div><div> </div><div>"The helicopter sector needs touch light regulations. The new civil aviation policy, including the policies of DGCA will have such light touch regulations without compromising with overall safety requirements," said, R N Choubey, Secretary Civil Aviation.</div><div> </div><div>He said that regional connectivity and religious tourism using helicopters will be given a major push under the new policy. He said that efforts are on to work out fiscal initiatives for the sector with the Ministry of Finance.</div><div> </div><div>He also informed that GAGAN satellite assisted navigation systems which provide one metre resolution even in unregulated air-space will be used for efficient monitoring and tracking of helicopter movement.</div>
