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MUMBAI: ET NOW, the English-language business news channel that brings you unparalleled stock market analysis and high-impact new stories, gets you a sneak preview of the brand new Terminal 3 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. And walking you through the state-of-the-art creation, built in record time, is none other than the Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel.
While the `T3,‘ completed just in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, is undoubtedly a feather in Mr. Patel‘s cap and a vindication of his strategy to partner with the private sector to modernize India‘s airports, the glitter of the glass-and-chrome structure can‘t deflect attention from many of the serious challenges facing India‘s aviation sector. The biggest among them is the future of Air India, which is hobbled by losses, a dispirited workforce and questions surrounding the airline‘s safety practices following the recent fatal crash in Mangalore. How realistic are Mr. Patel‘s plans of reviving the flag carrier, which is currently surviving on taxpayer‘s largesse?
Also, is the aviation minister willing to accept that the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines has been a non-starter? Will the government come to the aid of private airlines if the incipient recovery in their business performance peters out as the European financial crisis worsens? Watch Parful Patel field these and many other probing questions from Andy Mukherjee, the executive editor of ET Now, as they take a walk around what is soon poised to become the world‘s sixth-largest airport and a symbol of an India that is once again daring to dream big.
Check in at Terminal 3 with Praful Patel, a half-hour exclusive on ET NOW, plays this Saturday 6:00 pm and Sunday 4:00 pm and 10:00 pm.
