Monday, February 7 2005 14:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: India should spell out a national aviation policy on aviation related activities and also have a coordinated approach for development of aerospace technologies so that efforts are not duplicated and "infructuous expenditure" is avoided, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi said today (Feb 07, 2005).

"It is essential for us to spell out a national policy on aviation related activities, which will enable us to ensure that resources are procured, integrated and operated under one central head," Tyagi said in his address at the inaugural of the Aero India 2005 international seminar in Bangalore.

"Infructuous expenditure and wasteful effort could be curbed leading to more cost effective solutions that directly support our national effort in progressing aerospace activities," he said.

The Air Chief said Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is in collaboration with a number of other giants in the field and are producing various products that are of high quality and "very competitive" in costs.

In an effort to ensure that efforts in aerospace development in India "are not duplicated", Tyagi said setting up a central organization such as a "Aerospace commission for coordinating research efforts in various fields by various players, sharing information against all, thus ensuring that our scarce resources are optimally utilized."

"Regular reviews would need to be done to ensure that we are continuing on the right track and also to ensure that time frames are met," he said, in an apparent reference to delays in several of DRDO programmes.

Tyagi pointed to the need to constantly scan the environment and "identify futuristic" cutting edge technologies that would be of use both in the civil and Defence sector.

"Dual end technology would be an incentive for private sector players to invest in these areas," he said, adding that the country needs to constantly re-evaluate our goals.

"Those we feel are not likely to fructify and are beset with problems could be dropped. This will ensure that we are not bogged down by excessive delays and cost over runs," Tyagi said.