INTERNATIONAL/NATIONAL CONFERENCES/SEMINARS

As a part of its ongoing activities, FAST has successfully organized numerous Symposia and seminars on issues of contemporary and crucial interest - some of them held in the recent past are :

Seminars/Conferences

(1) Modernisation of Indian Airports – The Challenges Ahead on 19 April 2006
(2) Aviation & Tourism : Road Map for Next Decade on 02 & 03 February 2007
(3) Developing world class Airport Infrastructure : Challenges and Opportunities on 25 July 2007.
(4) Fast Growing Civil Aviation : Managing Safety on 03 February 2008.
(5) Indian Air Space : Strategies for safe and Efficient Management on 25 July 2008.
(6) Destination Management : Safety & Sustainability on 10 October 2008.
(7) Challenges in improving customer services levels in Aviation Industry on 06 March 2009.

(8) Air Transport Symposium “India – Asia : Civil Aviation Cooperation”, 16 – 17 September 2009, Ashok Hotel, New Delhi

      An international “Air Transport Symposium : India – Asia : Civil Aviation Cooperation” was organised by the Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism (FAST) in collaboration with Ministry of Civil Aviation and support of DGCA, Airports Authority of India, Air India and Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. on 16-17th September 2009, Ashok Hotel, New Delhi. The main objective for organizing this symposium was to provide a global perspective on international air transport liberalization, the success and lessons to be learnt, changes taking place in the industry and show the need and possible ways for Asian States and industry to move forward.
       Dr. Praful Patel, then Hon’ble Minister of State(Independent charge) for Civil Aviation was the chief guest and Mr. Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, then President ICAO was the key note speakers. About 16 countries from the ASEAN Region participated in the Symposium, including eminent speakers who deliberated in the panel discussions on various issues of international/regional importance. About 250 delegates, including foreign delegates, participated in the event, which was most successful.

(9) Incredible India : Managing Destinations, 02 March 2010, India Habitat Centre

      Tourism Seminar - “Incredible India : Managing Destinations” organised by FAST, in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, on 2nd March 2010 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, focused on destination management in its totality, including safety, security, sustainability including the role to be played by local bodies and to address challenges the travel and tourism industry faces today. Then Hon’ble Minister of Housing, Urban Poverty Alleviation and Minister for Tourism, Government of India Kumari Selja was the chief guest and inaugurated the seminar.
      Besides Mr. Sujit Banerjee, then Secretary Tourism, Government of India who delivered the key note address, other prominent speakers/dignitaries representing the industry included : Lt. Gen. KM Seth (Retd.), former Governor of Chhatisgarh & Tripura and President FAST, Mr. Vivek Nair, Vice Chairman & MD, Hotel Leela Group and Vice Chairperson WTTC India Initiative, Mr. M P Bezbaruah, former Secretary (Tourism), Government of India, Mr. Sanjay Kothari, then Addl. Secretary, Tourism, Govt. of India, Mr. Divesh Chaturvedi, then Addl. Director General (Tourism), Government of India, Mr. Anil Bhandari, Former CMD, ITDC, Dr. R N Pandey, Addl. DG (Market Research) Ministry of Tourism, etc. The seminar witnessed whole-hearted support and participation from the industry, including the State tourism departments, hotels, tours & travel operators and their associations.

(10) Development and Growth of Indian Civil Aviation, 20 August 2011, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi

      On the occasion of 67th birth anniversary of Shri Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, the Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism organised a Memorial Lecture : Rajiv Gandhi a Visionary : Development and Growth of Indian Civil Aviation on 20th August 2011 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi with the support of Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India. The then Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation & Overseas Indian Affairs Mr. Vayalar Ravi was the chief guest. Key note address was delivered by Dr. Karan Singh, then President ICCR. Other prominent speakers on this occasion included Lt. Gen. K M Seth, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.), former Governor of Tripura & Chhattisgarh and President FAST,Dr. Nasim Zaidi, then Secretary Civil Aviation, Government of India, Capt. Satish Sharma, President Aero Club of India and Mr. VP Agrawal, Chairman AAI. About 300 professionals from aviation and tourism fraternity attended the memorial lecture.

(11) Incredible India : Credible Chhattisgarh Tourism : A Tool for Economic Development & Poverty Alleviation on 11 January 2013.

      FAST in association with the Chhattisgarh Tourism, organized a Seminar on “Incredible India: Credible Chhattisgarh - Tourism: A Tool for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation” on 11th January 2013 (Friday) at India International Centre, New Delhi. Hon’ble Minister of Tourism & Culture, Chhattisgarh - Mr. Brij Mohan Agrawal was the chief guest and delivered the inaugural address wherein he mentioned about the development of tourism infrastructure and strategy to promote tourism in the State of Chhattisgarh. Gen. KM Seth, former Governor of Tripura & Chhatisgarh and President FAST welcomed the participants.
Panel sessions were chaired by renowned tourism professionals, viz. Mr. MP Bezbaruah, former Union Secretary Tourism, Mr. Ashwani Lohani, Tourism Expert, Mr. Anil Bhandari, Chairman, AB Smart Group, besides some of the prominent speakers / panelists who participated were : Mr. P Sen Bhowmik, General Manager, Chhattisgarh Tourism, Mr. Subhash Verma, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, Mr. Gurcharan Bhatura, Director General FAST, Mr.Sarabjit Singh, President, Indian Tourist Transporters Associations, Mr. Ashish Gupta, Founder – Strategy Pluto, Prof. M Sajnani, Director, Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism, Mr.DP Singh, Executive Director (Corporate Planning), AAI, Mr. Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators, Mr. TR Rao, Sr. VP – Infrastructure Project Advisory, SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd., Mr.Sudhir Sahi, Expert Rural Tourism, Mr. Ranjan Choundhury, Principal – Programme Development, National Skill Development Corporation etc. The seminar witnessed whole-hearted support and participation from the industry, including the State tourism departments, hotels, tours & travel operators and their associations.

(12) Civil Defence Cooperation : Optimal Use of Airspace, 15 March 2013, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

      One day Seminar was conducted by Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism on 15th March 2013 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi . The theme of the seminar was “Civil Defence Cooperation and Optimal Use of Airspace”. The purpose of the seminar was to bring all the stakeholders related to the aircraft operations such as IATA, Pawan Hans, ATC and CNS Guild as the end users, MOCA, AERA & DGCA as Policy makers and AAI, IAF and Indian Navy as service providers on a common platform and discuss the various issues prior to the actual implementation of FUA and also to bring other topics for the cooperation between the military and civil authorities at all the levels. The seminar was sponsored by AAI and supported by MOCA and DGCA.
Air Chief Marshal (Retd.) S. Krishnaswamy was the chief guest. Other distinguished guest included Lt. Gen. KM Seth, former Governor of Tripura & Chhattisgarh and President FAST, Shri Arun Mishra D.G.C.A., Shri V.P. Agrawal Chairman, AAI, AVM Upkarjit Singh Air HQR and Shri V. Somasundaram, Member(ANS), AAI. Seminar was a grand success in terms of participation, deliberations and its outcome. A detailed Report was prepared and sent to all concerned.

(13) SEMINAR ON MAKE IN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR February 2 (Tuesday) 2016 at India International Centre, New Delhi

Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism (FAST) organized one-day Seminar on “Make in India : Challenges & Opportunities in Civil Aviation Sector”, on 2nd February 2016 at India International Centre at New Delhi Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation graced the event as its “Chief Guest” and Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Secretary, Civil Aviation , and CMD Pawan Hans as “Guests of Honour”.

The objective of conducting this seminar was to identify the areas that need to be addressed so that the transformation in the aviation industry in India could be brought about in the specifics of aircraft MRO business, Skill development and technology transfer.

The participants in the seminar included delegates from MRO organizations, agencies concerned with skill development, Airports Authority of India, private airport operators, Pawan Hans, Air India, Indian Air Force, Army and Navy, reputed manufacturing and infrastructure development organizations, and suppliers of Navigation and Airfield systems, private Airline operators, IATA, ATC Guild etc. besides representatives from MOCA, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, AERA, IGRUA etc.

The seminar was designed to discuss and deliberate on the four major topics - (i) MROs, (ii) Skill Development & technology transfer, (iii) Manufacturing & Infrastructure Developmental issues and (iv) Up-gradation of Navigation and Airfield Systems. Eminent experts/professionals in the field of Air Traffic Management/CNS, MROs, manufacturing industry and other professionals on skill development made their presentations while being part of the panel discussions.

Various suggestions emerged out of these discussions for opening up to the opportunities and need to discover and invent locally, including skill development and technology transfer, to “Make in India” initiative a success. A Report highlighting these suggestions/recommendations was prepared by FAST and sent to Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation and MOS CA for action at appropriate level in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

(14) Seminar on Boosting Tourism : Strategy - Aviation, the Driving Force, 15th December 2016 at Hotel Pride Plaza, Aerocity, IGI Airport, New Delhi - 110037

Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism (FAST) and Travel Trade Journal (TTJ) with the support of Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism jointly organised one day Seminar on “Boosting Tourism - Strategy : Aviation, the Driving Force, on 15th December 2016 at Hotel Pride Plaza, Aerocity, New Delhi. Shri Jayant Sinha, Hon’ble Minister of State for Civil Aviation graced the event as its “Chief Guest” and Dr. BP Sharma, CMD - Pawan Hans, Shri Ashish Gupta, Founder- StrategyPluto & Consulting, CEO - FAITH and Dr. Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director - Bird Group as “Guests of Honour”.

This seminar aimed at bringing together all stakeholders in Tourism and Aviation industry such as tour and travel operators, hoteliers, business leaders, investors, financial institutions/banks, knowledge partners, on the one hand and airport operators, airlines, Pawan Hans, ground handling agencies, FAA, IATA, CAPA, regional airlines and general aviation on the other, besides policy makers i.e. Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Tourism, State tourism departments, regulatory authorities, service providers etc. at a common platform for deliberating on key issues/concerns on boosting tourism and evolving workable short-term/long-term solutions.

On this occasion, Hon’ble Minister gave away “Excellency Awards” to the following :
1. Dr. BP Sharma, CMD Pawan Hans Ltd. - Excellence in Heli-Tourism
2. Shri Ankush Nijhawan,Managing Director, Nijhawan Group - Travel Trade
3. Shri Vineet Gopal, ReUnion Island - Travel Trade
4. Travstarz Global Group - Travel & Tourism industry

The seminar deliberated on the four major issues/topics – (i) Remote and Regional Connectivity , (ii) Infrastructure development in tourism and civil aviation sectors, (iii) Convergence & integration of efforts by all stake holders, and (iv) Crucial Role to be played by State Governments and Public-private participation. Prominent speakers who made presentations or addressed the participants in the two Business Sessions were : Dr. R K Tyagi, former Chairman – Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.,Mr. G K Chaukiyal, ED (PM&QA) – Airports Authority of India, Capt. R K Bali, Managing Director - Business Aircraft Operators Association(BAOA), Mr. Koustav M Dhar, CEO - Zoom Air, Mr. Pran S. Dasan, Counry Head, India, Nepal & Sri Lanka - Flydubai, Mr. Parvez Dewan, former Secretary Tourism, Mr. S N Pradhan, Joint Secretary (DONER), Dr. Subhash Goyal, Chairman, Stic Tours & Travel, Mr. Tushar Pandey, Yes Bank, Mr. Pronab Sarkar, President - Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Mr. P P Khanna, President – Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India and Mr. Rajan Sehgal, Northern India Chapter Chairman, TAAI

While the Indian tourism sector has a strong base for growth, but it has been constrained due to lack of adequate infrastructure, limited connectivity in remote and regional areas, restrictive policies, etc. Thus, there was consensus among the participants that India, with its diversity in culture, offers a unique opportunity to promote tourism. The seminar was a grand success in terms of attendance, deliberations and outcome.

(15) Seminar on “Incredible India : Connectivity – Driving Tourism for Inclusive Growth, 12th April 2018 at India International Centre, New Delhi

      Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism (FAST) with the support of Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Civil Aviation organised one day Seminar on “Incredible India : Connectivity – Driving Tourism for Inclusive Growth” on 12th April 2018 at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The main objective of the seminar was to bring together all stakeholders in Tourism and Aviation industry to address a host of issues related to critical infrastructure development, particularly the Connectivity - lack of fast and seamless model of traveling, accommodation - key to tourism development, conducive environment & safety critical for tourists to feel confident enough to travel – in promoting tourism, at a common platform for deliberating and evolving workable solutions.
The inaugural session was presided over by Mrs. Rashmi Verma, Secretary (Tourism), Government of India as Chief Guest, since Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Suresh Prabhu could not attend due to some unavoidable reason. But his video recorded message was played for the delegates. Other dignitaries who addressed the participants in this session were Lt. Gen.(Retd) KM Seth, former Governor of Tripura & Chhattisgarh, Shri Vijay Chhibber, former Secretary, Road Transport and Highways, Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, CMD – Air India Ltd., Dr. BP Sharma, CMD – Pawan Hans Ltd. After the inaugural session, there were three Business Sessions :
Business Session 1 : Connectivity : Unlocking the Tourism Potential - Chaired by Shri VP Agrawal, former Chairman – Airports Authority of India and Vice President FAST.
Business Session 2 : National Policy for Tourism : Understanding the growth dimensions of Tourism - Chaired by Shri Vinod Zutshi, IAS(Retd.), former Secretary (Tourism), Government of India
Business Session 3 : Investment for developing infrastructure through PPP Model and Stakeholders concerns - Chaired by Shri MP Bezbaruah, former Secretary (Tourism), Government of India
Other prominent speakers in these sessions were : Shri Kapil Kaul, CEO (South Asia), CAPA, Shri G K Chaukiyal, ED (RCS) – AAI, Gp. Capt. RK Bali, Managing Director, Business Aircraft Operators Association, Shri B K Srivastava, Aviation Consultant, Shri Pran S Dasan, Country Head – India, Nepal & Sri Lanka : FlyDubai, Dr. Subhash Goyal, Chairman – Stic Travels Pvt. Ltd., Prof (Dr.) Manohar Sajnani, Dean – Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism, Amity University, Shri PP Khanna, President – Association of Domestic Tour Operators in India, Shri Sidharath Kapur, President & CFO (Airports) – GMR Group and Shri Tushar Pandey, Consultant & Advisor – PPP and Social equity.
The seminar was a grand success in terms of participation, deliberations and outcome. A Report featuring the highlights of the seminar was prepared and sent to Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation and Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism for appropriate action.

RESEARCH STUDIES AND ADVISORY SERVICES

      With the exponential growth of aviation & tourism industry and consequent need to develop airport infrastructure, the Foundation is uniquely positioned to offer independent advice and advisory services and to undertake projects in all aspects of civil aviation and tourism such as - setting up of airports, heliports, conducting feasibility studies, undertake market research and fixing airport/airline problems, besides networking with the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism, regulatory agencies, BCAS, AAI and other concerned agencies.
      The Foundation has on its panel a pool of eminent experts of national and international standing for meeting the specific requirements of the industry. Some of the studies, reports, reference books and published research papers brought out by the Foundation are listed below :

•   Techno-Economic Feasibility for Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Facility.
•   Corporate Plan for Airports Authority of India.
•   Privatization of Airports in India - Recent Developments and Contemporary Issues.
•   Space Tourism - Industry of the 21st Century.
•   Action Plan for Development of Sustainable Tourism in Andaman & Nicobar Island.
•   Regulatory Mechanism for Civil Aviation.
•   Enhancing Air Connectivity in North East Region.
•   Heli-Tourism in Chhattisgarh.
•   Setting up of Pilot Training Centre at Lilabari, Assam.
•   Feasibility Study for Setting up an Aircraft Maintenance Training Institute at Imphal.

BOOKS PUBLISHED

•   Aviation and Sustainable Tourism - Emerging Trends.
•   New Horizon on Travel and Tourism.
•   Flight into the Millennium – Aviation and Tourism Symbiosis.
•   Airborne for Progress: Tourism and Aviation.
•   Aviation and Tourism: Synergy for Success.

Coffee Table Book portraying 100 years of Civil Aviation in India : March 2012

    To demonstrate the monumental journey made by the civil aviation sector in the last hundred years, a need was felt to compile all the milestones as well as major developments related to this sector, as part of Centenary Celebrations. The idea of a Coffee Table Book in a collector’s form and picture driven book was conceived by then Secretary Civil Aviation Dr. Nasim Zaidi.
Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism (FAST) in coordination with the MOCA and Airports Authority of India prepared and published the Coffee Table Book with 200 pages of pictorial depiction/panorama of Indian Civil Aviation on behalf of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. As India enters the second century of aviation, this book is a humble attempt to bring forth the salient features with its past and present seamlessly integrated, to explain the evolution of civil aviation in India. The Book was launched in a very high profile function at Hyderabad by then Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation on 14th March 2012 along side “India Aviation 2012”, at Begumpet Airport.

Aviation Training

Directorate General of Civil Aviation has accorded approval to FAST to conduct the training programme for Crew Resource Management (CRM), Specific Ground Training and Dangerous Goods Awareness for pilots and airlines/other concerned agencies’ staff. FAST is presently conducting the following short-term training programmes :

•  Crew Resource Management (CRM)
•   Procedures Training
•  Dangerous Goods Awareness Training
•  Adverse Weather Operations - Monsoon Flying
•  Safety Management System
•  Accident Prevention
•  Accident Investigation
•  Human Factors in Aviation
•  Safety Audit

ADVISORS & FACULTY :

Lt. General KM Seth, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.) and former Governor of Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura, currently the President of Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism, is the driving force behind our training programmes.
Mr. VP Agrawal, former Chairman and Managing Director of Airports Authority of India, our Vice-President, lends his expertise and advise to our training programmes.
Air Commodore B.S.Siwach, AVSM, YSM, VM (Retd) ,Capt. RS Dangi and Capt. KPS Nair, the renowned aviation experts are among our celebrated faculty of instructors.

VENUE

All the above training courses will be conducted in the Air-conditioned and fully furnished Training Room with required training aids etc. at the Foundation’s Office :
Old Vayudoot Building, 2nd Floor, Air India Complex, Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi-110003, Tele: 24610377, 24627100, Mobile : 9810437648/7503624872.
For details & any other information, please contact :
O P Miglani
General Manager
Mob: 9810437648
R Narula DGM
Mob: 99 53 53 3000
email: infofastindia@gmail.com
trainingfast16@gmail.com