ITI Nagpur students to learn to assemble Rafale jets

Students ofthe Industrial Training Institute (ITI) here in Maharashtra are all set to get a chance to learn how to assemble and fit body parts of the Rafale and Falcon aircraft, an official said on Tuesday.

The France-based Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of Rafale fighter jets, signed an agreement with the government- run ITI Nagpur last month for starting an 'Aeronautical Structure and Equipment Fitter' course at the institute.

"The students will get training in the assembly of aerostructure, cockpit fitting, wings fitting and body structure fitting of Falcon and Rafale aircraft at the DRAL unit here," ITI's principal Hemant Aaware told PTI.

The Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL), a joint venture between Dassault Aviation and Reliance Group, has a facility in MIHAN (Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur) for the assembling of Falcon 2000 passenger planes and parts of Rafale jet.

Aaware said before this new programme, the ITI did not have any aviation-related course.

"During an industry-academic interaction, we requested DRAL to start an aviation-related course at ITI," he said.

The French aviation company and the ITI have jointly designed the syllabus of the two-year course, he said.

A government resolution was issued last Friday for starting the course at the ITI here.

"We are planning to start the course this year itself with two batches of 21 students each in 2019-20. Besides, there will be one batch of 21 students in 2020-21 and two batches of 21 students each in 2021-22. There will be a total intake of 105 students for the course," Aaware added.