New Delhi [India], September 18 (ANI): Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will hand over Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Final Operational Clearance (FOC) Twin Seater Trainers & HTT 40 Basic Trainer Aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Dhruv Next Generation (NG) helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on Friday.  

According to a release from the Ministry of Defence, the handover marks an important milestone in the country's self-reliance journey, as the event would highlight the role being played by HAL and its industry partners in strengthening the domestic aerospace ecosystem. It would also demonstrate the industry's expanding capability to design, develop, and manufacture advanced platforms for both civil & military applications.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh; Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar; Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation Samir Kumar Sinha; CMD, HAL Ravi K, and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Civil Aviation, IAF, PHL, regulatory agencies and stakeholders from the aerospace & defence sectors will be present on the occasion.

The Government has accorded high priority to promoting indigenous design, development and manufacturing in the aerospace & defence sectors. The induction of these platforms is another step towards strengthening the indigenous capabilities and reducing dependence on foreign sources.

Earlier on Thursday, Rajnath Singh, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan, flagged off a bike yatra from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, to his birthplace, Vadnagar, in Gujarat, as part of the 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan' on his 76th birthday.

The event was organised at the Rudraksh International Cooperation and Conference Centre in Sigra. The yatra will cover the journey from Modi's 'Karmabhoomi' Varanasi to his birthplace, Vadnagar, with 500 people participating on 250 bikes.

The Chief Guest of the programme flagged off the bike yatra from Varanasi to his birthplace, Vadnagar, organised at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Conference Centre, Sigra, on Thursday. The programme was started by lighting the lamp by Naidu, Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan, and garlanding the statues of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay. (ANI)