Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to commence his visit to Gujarat today, where he will be laying the foundation stone for a major developmental project in Vadodara, and celebrating the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel.
PM Modi will begin his three-day visit to Gujarat and Rajasthan today, October 30, and his trip will begin from Vadodara, where he will be laying the foundation stone for the C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility today, where jets will be manufactured for the Indian Air Force.
Later, the prime minister will also pay homage to Sardar Patel at the Statue of Unity on his birth anniversary on Monday in the poll-bound state. He will also participate in the National Unity Day celebrations to mark Patel's birth anniversary and address the officer trainees at the culmination of the 97th common foundation course, 'Aarambh 4.0'.
The PMO said the C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility, the first such private sector facility in the country, will be utilised for manufacturing 40 such transport planes for the Indian Air Force through collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus Defence and Space, Spain.
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The C-295 manufacturing project is worth Rs 22,000 crores and is set to strengthen and diversify the portfolio of jets owned by the Indian Air Force (IAF). This is a joint venture by a consortium of European defence major Airbus and Tata, which will further boost the domestic aerospace sector.
Airbus Defence and Space sealed a Rs 21,000 crore deal with India to manufacture as many as 56 C-295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force. These new one-of-a-kind aircraft are set to replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the IAF.
The C-295MW is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of IAF. It has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para-dropping of troops and cargo. Short take-off and landing from semi-prepared surfaces are other of its features.
(With PTI inputs)
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