Indias first private-sector helicopter

♦ India's first private-sector helicopter assembly facility is set to be established in Kolar, Karnataka. Airbus, the European aviation giant, and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), the aerospace division of the Tata group, have come together to establish a Final Assembly Line (FAL) for H125 helicopters.

♦ The facility will manufacture Airbus' popular H125 civil helicopter for Indian and regional markets, becoming the fourth such installation globally after those in France, US and Brazil.

♦ Initially producing 10 helicopters annually, the facility will expand operations based on Airbus' forecast of 500 light H125-class helicopters being required in the region over the next two decades.

Narendra Modi

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated India’s first deepwater transshipment port, named Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, on 2 May 2025.

♦ The port was built by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) in partnership with the government under a public-private model at a cost of around Rs.8,900 crore.

♦ A transshipment port includes terminals, where cargo containers are shifted from one vessel to another before they reach their final destination.

♦ Until now, India lacked a full-fledged deepwater container transshipment port. With no infrastructure to handle large vessels, nearly 75 per cent of its transshipment cargo has been routed through foreign ports such as Colombo, Singapore, and Jebel Ali in the UAE.