70TH AGM OF THE AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA & NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN AEROSPACE & DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY
Theme: Regional Transport Aircraft Opportunities and Challenges
Chennai, 21st February 2020: The 70th Annual General Meeting of The Aeronautical Society of India along with National Conference on recent developments in Aerospace and Defence Technology is being held on 21st – 22nd February, 2020 with the theme “Regional Transport Aircraft – Opportunities and Challenges” at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS), Chennai. Thiru. BANWARILAL PUROHIT, Honorable Governor of Tamil Nadu inaugurated the session and addressed the gathering. This two-day conference will act as a knowledge sharing forum for business professionals, scientists, academicians, industrialists, researchers and students in the field of aerospace sector.
Key members from the sector such as Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, Dr. A.S Kiran Kumar, Former Chairman ISRO and Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman ISRO participated and addressed the gathering and shared significant insights on the sector.
Dr. Anand Jacob Verghese, Vice President of AeSI , Organising Committee Chairman and Director & CEO of Hindustan Group of Institutions said, “this is the first time AeSI AGM is being held in Chennai in a such a large scale where more than 500 delegates have attended this AGM in which around 150 delegates are from organizations like ISRO, DRDO, HAL, NAL, DGCA, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Airport Authority of India, Airlines, Aviation Companies.”
Organised by the Chennai Branch of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) under the leadership of Dr. Anand Jacob Verghese, Vice President, AeSI. This is one of the largest professional societies of the Aerospace sector in Chennai, boasting of more than 700 Members and functioning for more than 6 decades.
Some of the sessions and focus areas of the conference includes: Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics, Air Transportation and Airworthiness, Aircraft Structures, Propulsion & system Avionics to name a few. The Technical Sessions will include Trends of Regional Transport Operations, Perspective on Advances in Air Transportation, Trends in Airline Operations, Global Market Trends – MRO/Pilot Training, Challenges in Airline Management, Dr. KCG Verghese Memorial Lecture, Aviation Law & Dr. Kalpana Chawla Memorial Lecture to name a few.
As part of the AGM eminent personalities who have made significant contributions in the realms of aeronautics are be honored by the Society. Two of the coveted prizes are the National Aeronautical Prize and the Dr. Biren Roy Trust Award. The objective of the Society is to promote the advancement of knowledge in Aeronautical Sciences, Space Technology, Aircraft Engineering and to further develop technological opportunities to the advantage of the country. Some of the recepients of the awards and recognition are:
| Name of the awards | Awardee Name |
| Life-time Achievement Award | Dr.V.K.Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, New Delhi |
| Outstanding leader in Aerospace and Defence | Dr.K.Sivan, Chairman, ISRO, Bangalore |
| Outstanding Woman Scientist / Engineer Technologist | Dr.Rajalakshmi Menon, OS & AE&WC System, DRDO, CABS, Bangalore |
| National Aeronautical Prize | Shri.S.Somanath, DS & Director VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram |
| Dr.Biren Roy Space Science and Design Award | Dr.G.Ayyappan, OS &Programme Director, STC,VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram |
| Dr. Biren Roy Trust Award | Dr. Sudha UPV, Scientist / Engineer “E”, ADA, Bangalore |
| Dr.VM Ghatage Award | Shri Abhishek Singh, Dy GM (Design) and his Team, HAL Bangalore. |
| Dr.VM Ghatage Award | Shri Deepak Bansal, Commodore Supt. Naval Aircraft Yard, Kochi. |
| Excellence in Aerospace Education Award | Dr. Dipak Kumar Maiti, Professor & Head, Dept. Of Aerospace Engg., IIT Kharagpur. |
| Production Technology Award | Shri K.Sathyanarayana, Asstt.Engineer, Solar Panel Division, URSC, Bangalore. |
| Production Technology Award | Shri Jagannatha, Asstt.Engineer, Solar Panel Division, URSC, Bangalore. |
| Indigenisation of Aeronautical Equipment Award | Shri Shashank Mishra, Technical Officer “D” Defence Materials and Stores Research & Development Establishment, Kanpur |
| Indigenisation of Aeronautical Equipment Award | Shri Sumanta Kumar Sahoo, High Skilled Technician, HAL, Sunabeda. |
| Swarnajayanti Award | Shri Manu Varrier, Scientist / Engineer “SF”, LPSC, Thiruvananthapuram |
About AeSI
The Society is headquartered at New Delhi. The Patron in Chief of the society is the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi. It was founded in 1948 and the first meeting was held in Bengaluru at the Puttanachetty Town Hall on December 27, 1948. The Society has 18 branches all across India. The current President of AeSI is Dr. R. K Tyagi, Board Member, Air India & Former Chairman, HAL, Bangalore and Dr. Lalit Gupta, former Joint Director General, DGCA is the Secretary General of AeSI. The objective of the Society is to promote the advancement of knowledge in Aeronautical Sciences, Space Technology, Aircraft Engineering and to further develop technological opportunities to the advantage of the country.
The Society conducts lectures, seminars, workshops, etc. periodically in various topics under the aegis of respective branches. It conducts examinations leading to the Associate Membership Certificate of the Aeronautical Society of India. This is recognized to be equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
The Society recognizes professionals in engineering by grading its members into various categories such as Fellows, Honorary Fellows, Members, Graduate Members and Student Members.
The Chennai Branch has been generously supported by the late Dr. KCG Verghese, a visionary of aviation who started Air Asiatic, the first private airlines in India after independence. Dr. KCG Verghese, the Late Chairman of the Hindustan Group of Institutions was a pioneer in Aviation since the establishment of the Aeronautical Society programme at the HIET campus in Guindy.
