Nagpur: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari expressed confidence that Nagpur, located at the geographical center of India, has the potential to emerge as a major ‘Aviation Hub’ for the country. He emphasized that while developing the aviation sector, there must be no compromise on safety, and all stakeholders should work responsibly to make the sector self-reliant by utilizing their full capabilities.
Gadkari was speaking on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at a seminar on “The Role of the Aviation Sector in Developed India”, organized by the Air Traffic Controllers Guild of India (ATC Guild). The three-day conference, from October 4 to 6, brings together representatives from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), and various private aviation stakeholders.
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4 Oct 2025
Prominent attendees included Yogiraj Sorte, General Manager of the Airports Authority of India; Alok Yadav, Secretary General of the ATC Guild of India; and Dr. Vijay Kumar Sharma, Secretary of the Association for Industrial Development.
Highlighting the growth of India’s aviation infrastructure, Gadkari noted,
“In the past ten years, the number of airports in the country has increased from 75 to 150. SpiceJet has already used bio-aviation fuel on its Dehradun–Delhi route. Indian farmers can now produce bio-aviation fuel from parali (crop residue) and rice husk.”
He further stressed the importance of amphibious seaplanes, capable of operating on both land and water, to make air and water transport faster and more cost-effective. Gadkari said that clear guidelines and frameworks need to be developed by aviation experts to support such innovations.
The minister also called for the integration of advanced technologies in air traffic management and for stakeholders to explore new business models to boost passenger traffic and revenue generation in the aviation sector.
