The Indian Government’s Planning Commission is expected to allocate Rs50bn ($995.6m) in the 12th Five Year Plan for the development of a 90-seater regional transport aircraft (RTA).

The civilian aircraft project was initially proposed by a 15-member high-powered committee (HPC) for National Civil Aircraft Development (NCAD) set up by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in May 2010. The HPC had recommended that the Indian Government fund the development phase of the aircraft and also proposed a private partner joint venture (JV) for the production phase of the aircraft.

The planning commission also suggested the creation of a JV with private equity participation for both the development and the production phase. The CSIR has set up a committee to identify an industry partner for the JV and propose its equity structure, according to PTI. The JV has to be structured in such a way that it ensures linkages are maintained between both the phases, the officials said.

CSIR is expected to float the expression of interest for the private player in the design and development phase of a 90-seater RTA, with a consortium of aerospace industry companies, similar to Europe’s Airbus Industries, likely to be a desirable option. The CSIR 12th Plan working group report said that a total of seven prototypes are proposed for development by CSIR-NAL to prove the design and demonstrate compliance with respect to airworthiness requirements and certification.

The new passenger aircraft will be customised to Indian requirements while also offering economic benefits. According to aviation market projections, India will require about 500-600 regional aircraft, whereas the global market is expected to be about 5,000-6,000 aircraft. A technical committee has been established to examine the NCAD programme and guide CSIR-NAL in creating a detailed document for its implementation and identifying the work modules.