India conducting feasibility study for Regional Transport Aircraft

New Delhi: India is developing a regional transporter, also its first civil transport aircraft, which would cater to the regional aviation market. The feasibility study for a 70-90 seat civil transport plane is currently on, a top aerospace scientist said today.  

"We are looking at creating a Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) which would be 70 or a 90-seater. The feasibility study is being carried out now," said MR Nayak, advisor and chief scientist at the state-owned National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) said here.

A high-powered committee headed by former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair has already been set up to guide the project. Nayak said the aircraft would be developed through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

He was speaking at a meeting of Indo-US aviation manufacturers.

While NAL would be the nodal agency for the project, other public sector firms such as HAL, DRDO, ISRP, BEL and ADA would also be participating in the project.

Those in the private sector include HCL, QUEST, Infosys, Mahindras, L&T and the Tata Group.